Fire and Ice - Prophetic Seduction
by silverlineage
Summary: Here it is! The side story of Trishna-volcir with a cooperation of characters from CrypticAngel78. I don't know too much about the Sonic universe, but I go with the flow! What happens when a good guy rediscovers his dark side? What happens when a prophecy suddenly has a chance to come to light and finally get fulfilled? Read along and find out! Updates occasionally.
1. The Plot Begins

Cydaea watched her daughter sleep and she scowled in thought. _She is still a virgin. Still!_ Such a thing was starting to get irritating. A virgin succubus did have power, but she had to learn about a sexual confrontation at some point in her life. It was only natural to do so in order for her Siren powers to mature properly. Her powers wouldn't advance while she was a virgin. And she didn't want that blue quill ball to be her first. No. She wanted someone powerful.

"I could seduce Orion to do it..." she mused. "But...no. Solina would rip my daughter to pieces. So...ah! I know who!"

She grinned and retreated to the underworld. She sought out Iblis. The magma-type hedgehog was busy wandering around and doing nothing. As usual. When she appeared, he turned to regard her slowly.

"Cydaea?" he asked.

"Hello, Iblis. I was wondering if you could do a favor for me," she purred out.

"No," he seemed to smirk.

"So...you don't want to have sex with my daughter?" she grinned wickedly now. Iblis turned to look at her like he didn't hear her right.

"What?"

"You heard me! She's still a virgin. It's depressing."

"Oh. Well, I can't help you," he shrugged.

"Fine. I'll go see if Mephy wants to have a virgin," she sighed. "Or maybe Sonic. Oh! Shadow would work, too. Maybe even that two-tailed one..."

"Are you kidding?! None of them would be worth her time!" Iblis snapped.

"So...you'll take up the offer?" she chuckled. He paused and scowled at himself. "Just remember. Vol does watch over her. It would be a true test of character and challenge."

"That it would be," he agreed.

"And...if you still desire Lilith..." she snickered. "You could see it as being with...two virgins..."

"I see..." he mused now. That idea appealed to him. At this, she nodded and vanished away. Iblis could only think about the whole thing and found himself wanting to try and see how far he could get with Trishna. She had been developing rather nicely. Now he wanted to see how far along she was.

* * *

Iblis found himself outside Vol's home. He could sense that Trishna was there. He was actually a bit nervous. He had every right to be. Vol's chilling breath could seriously put a damper on his heated body. He had to edge on the side of caution. Clearing his throat, he made his way inside.

"What do you want, Iblis?" Vol asked from where he sat in a chair in his burnished silver hedgehog form. He was reading a book and acted bored. He was actually far from bored.

"I was wondering if Trishna was in," he said.

"She is. And she's sleeping. She is not to be disturbed. You can come back later," Vol grunted.

"Do you know when she will wake up?" Iblis asked.

"Hmm. Good question," Vol admitted. "She slept for a good six hours so far. Give her another three."

"Thank you. I'll be back later," he nodded and turned to leave.

"But...now I have to wonder," Vol said in a way that made Iblis's spine tingle with that knowing sense of danger. A protective dad was even worse than a dragon on a meaningless rampage. "Why did you come to see her? You couldn't care less about her."

"Ah. Cydaea thought that my company would be good for her."

"I see. What sort of company?"

"It would be best to ask her," Iblis said with a small shrug.

"Oh, you know I will," Vol growled out. "And, since it was Cydaea's idea for you to be here, I'll allow you to come back. But don't expect me to leave."

"I am aware of it," Iblis said. Vol only nodded and waited for Iblis to remove himself from his home. Now he needed to have a long conversation, more like an argument, with Cydaea.

* * *

Iblis was working up the courage to go back to find Trishna. He was in his home and trying to figure out various ways to reach her safely. While he was musing to himself, Mephiles made himself known.

"Brother..." Mephiles said. "Not often are you one to be lost in thought. Much less here."

"Oh. It's you," Iblis snorted. "I'm getting ready to see Trishna."

"Her? For what reason?" he asked with a mild form of amusement.

"Cydaea sort of...recruited me. To show Trishna what sex is like," Iblis said bluntly. Now Mephiles started laughing. "Sure, sure. Fine. Laugh it up. But when I get her virginity, and maybe even Lilith's virginity..."

"Wait! What?!" Mephiles stopped laughing at this.

"Sure. You'll have Fate. But...that's only one virgin. Right?" Iblis smirked now. At how Mephiles showed a sudden form intense jealousy at the thought, Iblis chuckled. "So, sure. Go ahead. Laugh. But, in the end, Trishna's virginity will become lost. And it will be because of me."

"And just why did Cydaea go to you?" he asked now.

"Because I never seem to find anything to do when she finds me. And I think she likes me more," Iblis said smugly. "So, if you'll excuse me. Vol knows I'm going to see her. And I know it'll be a worthy challenge to steal Trishna's virginity right out from under his nose."

Now Mephiles was lost in thought about this. That was a worthy challenge. And Trishna knew almost all of Fate's moods. Even Lilith's moods. Now he felt that he had to be the one to reach her first. He deserved to have two virgins. Trishna was only a form of bragging rights to him for that. Nothing more. Iblis likely felt the same. Now Iblis knew it was a race to see who Trishna desired more. And the clock was ticking.

* * *

Iblis returned to Vol's home, only to find that Trishna wasn't there. She was sent off to enjoy Fate and Lilith's company. Vol was waiting for him. So was Cydaea.

"Iblis! Good to see you. Sit," Vol growled. Iblis blinked at this, but did as he was told. "Cydaea expressed her concern about Trishna needing to advance her powers. I understand this. I can respect this."

"It's needed, Vol!" Cydaea growled, but he only rose up a hand to silence her.

"My issue is the damage it would do to Trishna. Tell me, Iblis. If she got pregnant, would you take care of her?" Vol asked now. At this, Iblis paused.

"I told you! She can't get pregnant unless she really wanted a baby!" Cydaea scowled.

"I know. But she's half dragon. If she lays an egg, or does become pregnant, where does that leave us?" Vol countered. "And if she falls in love with him, we know that he's not going to stick around for her."

"Her succubus side would see it as natural!" she argued.

"But her dragon side won't!" Vol snapped. Iblis actually found himself thinking over all of this. "And who's to say that he won't go after her again whenever the mood hits him?"

"Well, that would be only natural, too," Cydaea shrugged. She saw no problem with this. Vol was clearly not happy. "Oh, Vol, you worry too much. You always have."

"For good reason. Iblis, I cannot let you touch my daughter. Cydaea, Trishna is fine as she is. This discussion is over," he said and decided to fly off to find his daughter.

"He's a blow-hard," Cydaea sighed after he left.

"I still plan to try. Don't get me wrong," Iblis said. "But, a couple things do worry me. Her gaining feelings for me is one worry. The other is this. A pregnancy."

"If you tell her that it is a duty to help her powers grow," Cydaea said with a hint of knowing. "Then you'll be fine. She grew up so much around angels, that she knows that fulfilling a duty is more than getting into a petty relationship. And, if you wanted to sneak to her side again, remind her that it's a duty to make sure that her powers are growing properly."

"Thanks for the advice," Iblis said with a wicked gleam in his green eyes. This tidbit of information would easily play in his favor if he needed to use it.

* * *

Trishna was bored. Being in the castle of the Timekeepers was nice, but not when she was alone. On trying to figure out what to do, she suddenly beamed at an idea. Getting up from the bed she was laying back on, she moved swiftly to leave the room.

With a destination set, she moved with a purpose. Her silver dragon clawed feet clicked softly as she walked, and her tail swished back and forth in an easy gait. Any newly recruited guards studied her odd appearance, but they were advised on who she was. She was easily left alone.

"Here we are," she smiled and found herself at the observatory. It was the only place that studied the stars. It was also one of the most comforting places she could be. She took out a key that she kept on a small ringlet on her hips and unlocked the ornate door. On walking in, she took in the place silently.  
None really came here anymore. The giant telescope was collecting dust, and she moved to carefully wipe it off. She checked all the lenses and focal points to ensure it was always working. It was daylight still, so there weren't many stars to see. But that was fine.

The place was naturally darkened to allow the best possible viewing of the stars. And it was here that she began to let herself twinkle, and her body glowed as the small stars shot off her form to fade out after a bit. It put her in a trance-like state sometimes, so time would slip by quickly as she waited for her sisters to arrive.

This was always were she would tend to end up when she was alone. It was where only those close to her could find her when she was visiting her sisters. Lilith showed her the place long ago and allowed her to come and go as she pleased. She took excellent care of the room, and that was how she was granted such free range to idle about there. The observatory was always her favorite place to be now. Not many knew this, but that was how she liked it to be.

* * *

Two hours later, Trishna was still settled in the old observatory and lost in her own thoughts. She was silently twinkling and filling the dark room with shimmering lights. At the sight of two, glowing green orbs in the distance, she looked over with her own glowing silver eyes with black cat's eye pupils. He was able to find her. Cydaea had taught him how to track down her daughter's scent easily. He was actually amazed at what he was seeing. He never saw her twinkle before. It definitely caught his interest.

"I never realized how...mystical...you could make yourself," a voice softly purred out.

"Iblis?" she frowned and her tail swished silently. She looked up with her silver eyes with cat's eye pupils. She wasn't in a full trance, so it was easy to snap out of it.

"Yes. I figured I would stop by and see how you were," he said and let his form glow out his magma form. He wouldn't do anything right now. He had to build trust.

"I see. Well, I'm fine. You should go," she said lightly. "I'm sure that Lilith would appreciate your company more than I."

"I know she would. But, I also felt a touch bad that your sisters seem to have more attention than you. So, I decided to check up on you."

"It doesn't matter. You never liked me. Why come to me now?" she asked.

"Maybe...because I feel...concerned for your well-being," he seemed to shrug.

"Sure you do," she said dryly. Now her calm mood was shattered and the twinkling abruptly stopped. Her body stopped glowing and she straightened up. "I'm leaving. And don't touch anything in here. Lilith will hunt you down if you do."

"But would you hunt me down, too?" he chuckled.

"Why should I when this is Lilith's room?" she smirked. "I'd probably eat some popcorn with Fate and watch what happens to you."

"So much like your mother you are," Iblis seemed to snort.

"All the more reason for you to not be interested in me."

"And if it was your mother that told me to seek you out?"

"And why would you listen to her? Anyways, I'm done here. Enjoy," she said. As she started to leave, he was suddenly behind her with his hot hands on her arms to pull her back to his chest. That was unexpected.

"You can't tell me that you don't like this," he muttered in her ear. "To feel me against you like this..."

"I'm calling...my Father..." she shivered. Now he let her go.

"In time, you won't feel the need to. But, I'll leave you to your own thoughts. When you're alone, I'll make sure to find you again. We'll talk further," he chuckled and simply used the shadows to walk away. Now she was a touch scared and unnerved. Her arms were burning from where he grabbed her, but it wasn't with a form of pain. Her succubus side was aching from the lack of contact. She was never touched like that before. She didn't know what to expect. She already had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to call for her dad if it happened again. She could only hope that it wouldn't.

* * *

Trishna was still extremely troubled over what Iblis did. Her thoughts were conflicting. She had closeted herself up in her room in the alternate world where Sonic and his friends lived to try to sort herself out. Fate was also there, too, to oversee a few things, so she knew she wasn't alone. Lilith never paid too much mind to where this world was, though. When Sonic knocked on the door, she opened it.

"Hey. We were gonna go out. Do you want to tag along?" he asked.

"I don't know," she frowned. Now Sonic blinked. This wasn't the Trishna he knew.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know what to think of it!" she finally admitted. He walked in, closed the door and watched her.

"Talk to me. I'll help you," he said.

"I don't know if you can," she admitted. He continued to stand there. Sighing hard, she confessed to him on what happened in the observatory. Now he was pissed. And jealous.

"You're hanging out with me. End of story," he growled. "If he wants to get to you, he has to go through me! I won't let him touch you!"

"If my Mother really sent him for me..." she cringed.

"Then maybe you should be with me," he said softly. She looked at him with surprise.

"Fat chance," Iblis snorted when he charged in from a dark corner of the room. He had been watching her silently from afar. This simply irked him. "I was chosen. It will be me."

"She doesn't like you!" Sonic growled and readied to attack.

"Like has nothing to do with it. You are out of her league," he smirked. Trishna was simply trembling. She had never been fought over before this way. Now she realized how Fate felt when she was confronted by nobles. And there was really nothing she could do about it.

* * *

Trishna was still standing there in complete shock. Sonic and Iblis were locked in a glaring match. At a knock on the door, it made them all jump, if slightly. Sonic was still bristling, but he answered the door. Then he tensed up in full.

"I was sent to collect you," Mephiles said in a bored tone. He was a bit reformed for now, but at the sight of his brother in the room, and sensing how pissed off Sonic was, he was confused. Then he saw Trishna's petrified form. Now it all came together. Mephiles turned to glare at his brother. "You need to leave."

"And give you an opening? No way! Go back to Fate. She's the only one you need," Iblis mocked .

"You despicable thing!" Mephiles glowered and stepped fully in the room to confront his brother. "Need I remind you who the better is?!"

"Sure. Just like how Fate proves herself that she's better than you. Now get out of my way. I have to complete my request," Iblis growled.

"I think not," Mephiles said. He figured that if he helped Trishna escape, it would score him a point or two. "Sonic. Get her out of here. I'll deal with him."

"Fine. Hurry up. The others are waiting," Sonic muttered and grabbed Trishna's hand to pull her out of the danger zone. "And don't blow up the room!"

"I'm sure," Mephiles snorted. When he was alone with his brother, the jealousy meter rose up considerably high. "Iblis. I know why you came here now. You don't have to concern yourself over her anymore. I'll take over where you failed."

"Me? Failed? Hah! You're so jealous over the thought that I may have two virgins, and you can't let it go! You laughed at me! So, guess what? I'm not letting up. Trishna will submit to me. ME! And you can't say anything," his brother glowered. "I'm already in her thoughts. A few more meetings are all I need to claim my prize. And do you really want to fight me with Fate looking for you? If she finds out what you want with her sister, you'll have more than me to worry about."

"Bah!" Mephiles scowled. "And what of Lilith? If she finds out about you?!"

"Then we'll both have dirt on each other. Won't we?" Iblis snorted. They both glared silently at each other before backing down. When Mephiles left the room, Iblis laughed softly. Trishna already felt his touch. He felt the call of her succubus side. Nothing was going to get in his way to give that side of her what was needed. Everyone fell asleep at some point. He already had a plan. Even as he left the room to watch Trishna from afar, he enjoyed letting her feel uneasy. And he relished the thought that she couldn't get him out of her head. That alone was a feat even Mephiles couldn't do.

* * *

Trishna was in the car with the others as they rode around town. She was completely lost in her thoughts. Fate felt that something was wrong, but Mephiles was calmly talking to her to keep any suspicions down.

"Are you hungry?" Sonic asked her. He was purposely sitting next to Trishna to monitor her.

"Huh? Oh. A little, I guess," she seemed to shrug.

"No one is gonna touch you. Okay," he whispered and squeezed her arm. She smiled and nodded. The only problem was that his touch felt wrong. It was warm, but it wasn't the scorching blaze that Iblis gave her. Iblis. Even in the daylight among chattering friends, her mind darkened. Then, in the form of a haze, his form simply appeared before her. Her succubus side reached out for him, and he responded to her easily. For a moment, she was completely mesmerized. And he knew it.

" _Not even you can remove me from your thoughts,_ " he grounded out in his mental form. " _Face it, Trishna. You want me. Just say the word right now…and I'll pull you away from them…_ "

"No!" she snapped and came to in a panic. Her mind snapped back into focus to break the link to him and she shivered. At how everyone glanced at her, she gave a small wince. She didn't mean to outburst so loudly. Mephiles looked over at her and seemed to snort.

"Well, if you didn't want chili dogs, you could have simply said it in a lighter tone," he chided. He was covering up for her to keep her calm.

"Oh. Right..." she swallowed.

"Trish? You haven't been yourself since we left," Fate said. The fiery orange, winged hedgehog female was very concerned now.

"Just stressed, really. Haven't been sleeping right," she said back.

"She's fine. I think the butcher shop may have something for her. You know how she is when she's hungry," Sonic said. Mephiles and Sonic both met knowing gazes in the car review mirror. Shadow was clearly curious now. Something was up. Just the fact that no one was saying anything meant that it was big. He wanted in. Tails was mildly oblivious, but he neatly resumed the gossip to keep the mood in the car down. Trishna shivered slightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe getting something to eat would help. She seriously doubted it.

* * *

The trip to the butcher shop went well after that. Getting something to settle in her stomach did help keep her calm. Even the trips around town started to calm her down significantly. It was when they got back that the odd mood returned. She forced herself to remain calm.

"I think I'll take a nap. It was a pretty big meal I had," she smiled.

"That's fine," Fate smiled back. "Mephy! Make me a pie!"

"What?" Mephiles blinked at her. At her small glare, he sighed and relented.

"I'll be listening for anything," Sonic whispered to Trishna. "If I just walk into your room, too many will question it. I don't think he'd be dumb enough to do anything."

"I wouldn't know," Trishna whispered back. He only nodded and watched her walk off. Shadow soon came over to Sonic with a meaningful expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Talk. Now," Shadowed ordered. Sonic scowled softly, but he whispered what happened. Now Shadow's eyes went wide. "Get in there with her!"

"I can't! The others will think that something's wrong!" Sonic hissed. As they argued, Trishna was reclining on the mound of gold coins and silks. She rolled onto her belly to try and sleep better. Then she felt a set of hot hands on her back. She opened her mouth to scream, but Iblis placed a hand neatly over her mouth.

"I'm not going to do anything. I only want to help you sleep. Just relax," he said softly. She whimpered and shivered. At how his hands now moved to leisurely work over her back in a tender massage, she realized she couldn't fight it. He could have her right now and it would be done. But he was biding his time. He wanted to learn every sensitive point on her. And it was between her wings that he found the most intense area. It was the hardest to reach part on her and was always sore.

"Why?!" she finally gasped out at the relief she felt.

"You know that answer," he whispered in her ear.

"But...you can't love me..." she whimpered.

"I know. And you can't love me. But we can still...play together. We won't need kids. It would just be all fun, you know. Your mother's side demands this. As a demon, I also need this. There would be nothing wrong. Sure, I could be with Lilith. But even she needs to be on her nightly outings. We could meet together then. I don't know who would be willing to pick you up, but Sonic seems to have taken a distinct liking for you. As much as I...detest that."

"And who would...you choose?" she murmured and panted a touch from another sore muscle getting fixed.

"I don't know," he admitted. "None here seem to be worthy of you. Unless it's me."

"But...you like Lilith..." she cringed.

"I do. And I like you, too," he mused. "So...I could have both of you..."

"No! That's not right!" she hissed and succumbed to another wave of massages.

"It won't be right," he agreed. "But I'm a demon. Nothing will ever be right to me. Now relax. Sleep. When you sleep, I'll leave your side. But you had better believe that I'll be back."

She could only sigh and close her eyes. She hated the situation. Her succubus side loved it. Iblis knew it.


	2. A Succubus Awakens

Cydaea was pleased. Immensely pleased. She watched everything over the course of a week. Iblis was always there the moment Trishna was alone. If he was confronted, he simply mocked the ones the confronted him and left. When Sonic tried to stand watch in Trishna's room, Iblis was able to patiently wait for him to fall asleep before tending to her again. After a week of continuous visits, he knew it was time to take it up a notch.

"Huh?" Trishna blinked awake.

"Hush," Iblis whispered and gathered her up into his arms. She frowned, but found herself getting carried out of her room and through a portal. Iblis brought her to his room. "I'm not going to hurt you. I simply want you to sleep here for now."

"Um..." she shivered at the sight of the lava rock bed.

"Your succubus side will make you immune. Try it," he chuckled. This was how he was going to gently coax out this side of her. The more of the succubus that came out around him, the safer he would be from getting her pregnant. Cydaea had been giving him that much knowledge. If Trishna didn't want kids, they wouldn't happen. He moved to lay back on the bed first and pulled her on top of him. "See? I told you it would work."

"Oh..." she blinked. She hated to admit how nice it felt to be on him. Even he was pleased at how easily she was accepting him now.

What happened next surprised her. He tilted up her face to his and planted a kiss on her. She was shocked. As her mother was his first kiss, he was now her daughter's first kiss. And it was all right under Vol's nose. He didn't press for anything else, though. He simply let her rest on him. This was the main target. To get her used to lying down with him. To be accepted by her in this close proximity. Mephiles was going to be so pissed off if he ever learned about this. Everyone was. But, Iblis was not concerned. He wasn't hurting her. He wasn't disrespecting her. He was simply building a strong form of trust. Even as she slept on him now, he kept a hot hand in her hair. He was silently musing to himself on a job well done.

* * *

When he woke with her, he judged it was close to dawn. For the first time he could remember, he didn't want to push this one away. He worked hard to get her to this point. He saw her as his. Even if he didn't want a full relationship with her, she was his. He hated the thought that Sonic liked her. He didn't want any others to touch her. The possession he felt over her now was intense.

"Iblis?" she asked when she looked at him.

"Hmm?" he gazed back at her.

"What do you really see in me? Why do you…keep up with this?" she asked softly. Now he thought hard.

"You're…different. At first, you could say that it was fascination," he thought aloud and stroked her hair. "I mean, I've never known any others that could make stars. Sure, Lilith has the beauty of the moon. She can control various things with the moon. But…the two of you together have a form of harmony, too. As a demon, I want to possess both sides. To have full access to everything the two of you have to offer."

"So…you just see me as a possession?" she asked with a hint of remorse. He was actually speaking his mind about this. Now that he heard this tone from her, he growled and clamped his hands down on her with a mild show of force.

"You are mine!" he hissed and pressed his mouthless muzzle against her neck. He wanted to bite down to mark her. But, if he did, then Vol would hunt him down and slaughter him.

He wanted her now. He knew he wanted her now. Even at the sounds she made with her body pressed against his heated one, he trembled with control. He was losing his resolve. At her gasping form, he growled, "I waited too long to do this now. I spent too much time showing you that I meant you no harm. That I was, and am, interested in you. Even you know that nothing more can come of this. We made that clear. But, I still refuse to let you go this easily. So, yes. You are my possession. Mine. Not my servant. Not my mate for life. But still, you are mine."

"I find it…hard…to accept…" she growled and tried to find the will to fight him. "That all I will be…is a toy!"

"That is what a succubus is," he growled back and crushed her to him. "And you would use others the same way."

"No!" she cried out. Then her jaw went slack. He bit her. He gave in to the instinct to fully claim her this way. It was done in such a way that it would be very hard to tell where the bite was by being just along her hairline behind her pointed ear. He wanted no other to touch her. Even though she was part succubus, he couldn't allow it.

"Mine," he growled. "I marked you. No matter what happens now, you're mine."

"But…what of Lilith?" she whispered.

"I'll still be with her. But I'll also have you," he smirked and kept her against him. She would be his backup if something happened with Lilith. And he was ensuring that she would never feel right with Sonic. "And I don't think I'll let you go back to the others just yet."

"They'll…look for me…" she whimpered.

"Let them," he growled and planted a hot kiss on her mouth. As much as he wanted her, he was still holding back. He was testing himself now. He wanted to see how far the others would go to find her before he gave in to have her.

* * *

Sonic woke slowly from where he sat down. Glancing at the treasure pile on the floor, he blinked. Then his jaw dropped. He shouted out several curses that she was gone.

"What is it?!" Shadow said when he stormed in.

"He took her!" Sonic said. "He waited until I fell asleep, and he took her!"

"You fell asleep?! You idiot!" Shadow groaned. "Of course, he'd take her!"

"Who took who?" Fate asked now. Mephiles glanced at the others with his reptilian green eyes. At how Sonic was reacting, he knew exactly what happened.

"Iblis…" Mephiles growled out. "I'll find him."

"Iblis? What did he do?" she asked now.

"Trish is missing…" Sonic winced. Now her jaw dropped. She gave a scalding glare at Mephiles, but he was already gone. She glared at Sonic for an explanation now.

"It's been going on for a while. She didn't…none of us knew…how bad this was…" Sonic trembled. As Fate could only fight the urge to go to Vol now, Mephiles was already pounding on his brother's door. Iblis was able to block out his brother. It was the same thing that Mephiles did to him.

"Iblis! Open this door now!" Mephiles spat out. His fiery brother was sitting up in his bed with Trishna and kissing her in long, passionate ways. He looked over at the door with irritation.

"Iblis…" Trishna cringed. Iblis simply chuckled. He didn't have just his bedroom to go to. He planted another long, drawn out kiss on her mouth before rising up from the bed with her in his arms in a rather possessive way. Focusing on the wall, he let a fiery portal appear for him to step into. This led him to a very special, private retreat in the heart of a dormant volcano. Not even Mephiles knew of this place.

"We'll wait here for a time," he said and relaxed with her on another bed of soft lava rocks. Then he went back to making out with her at his leisure. He could almost hear the swearing his brother did when all that was found was an empty chamber.

"Damn you, Iblis!" Mephiles spat. Then he glanced over to find Cydaea sighing at him.

"Leave them be. It's part of her training," she said.

"Training?!" Mephiles asked.

"My daughter is a virgin, shadow brain," she smirked. "And he's taken quite a liking to her, too."

"You should have come to me," Mephiles growled.

"For what? For Fate to catch on and hurt you?" she laughed softly. "My daughter is fine."

"And if Iblis marks her?" Mephiles asked now.

"He wouldn't dare. He would know better. If he did mark her…" she thought. "Hmm. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Sonic couldn't lay full claim to her."

"But a succubus cannot belong to another!" he argued.

"Ah, Mephy," she sighed. "You have no idea of how many have marked me. A succubus is immune to such rules."

"To you. But she's half dragon," Mephiles said. Now Cydaea paused.

"If he marked her," she said. "Vol will be marking him all over a wall."

"I think he did," Mephiles said. "He's not one to bolt with a new prize unless it meant something to him."

"The only way he could get away with it is if her succubus side rejects the marking. I can teach her how to do that," she said. "If he reveals himself, I'll be waiting."

"Fine," Mephiles nodded. When he left, she studied the signature patterns of the room. She felt the teleportation spell used, but couldn't tell where it went to.

"Well played, Iblis. Very well played," she smirked and skipped off to wait.

* * *

It had been a whole day that Trishna went missing. As much as her friends were in a panic, Iblis knew he had waited long enough. It was only obvious that no one could find him. Now he was ready to claim her. At how his hands moved over her body now, she knew what he wanted to do.

"Please…" she whimpered.

"You've waited for this…as long as I have…" he growled and was able to remove her top effortlessly. At the sight of the scales over her chest, he laughed. "So…you don't need clothing? Very interesting!"

She cringed and gasped when he simply removed her bottoms to reveal the same scaled lines covering her there, too. A fiery finger now traced over each line of soft, lightly furred skin to make her writhe. He waited far too long to rush things. He was going to take his time. At least, he wanted to take his time. His newly formed mouth and tongue now moved over where each line was that was traced by his finger. She didn't really reveal her inner workings, but that didn't bother him at all. It was different, but that simply added to his excitement of discovering her. What he revealed was that the scales would shift aside.

At this knowledge, he chuckled and pressed his mouth right on the spot her most innermost center would be. She arched her back and cried out.

When she tried to struggle, he growled and held her hips firmly down. Then he simply moved up and shoved himself into her. At her sharp cry of pain, he felt his own body spasm from holding back for so long. He wanted to draw it out. He wanted to do more. For now, he simply clung to her and let his body empty into hers. He gave out a drawn out sigh of contentment, but he didn't release her yet. The look in his eyes said only one thing. _Mine._

She shivered hard, but found herself giving in to the movement he started up with her. When she finally cried out at his roar from the hard thrusts he did, she found herself gasping with disbelief.

She couldn't say anything right now. He knew she couldn't. So he said, "One more day. We shall remain here."

Even when he began to move in her again, she only knew how furious her father was going to be. For now, she had no choice. She was stuck where she was. And Iblis easily knew this.

* * *

When he finally went back into his main bedroom with her, Cydaea was waiting. She took one look at her daughter's trembling form and sighed. Iblis made no plans to release his claim on her.

"I need to take her back to her father. Give her to me," Cydaea said.

"No," Iblis said. "She's mine now."

"Iblis…" she warned softly.

"I marked her. She's mine. I claimed her body and everything about her. I refuse to give her up. She can go back to the others, but I will go to her when I need to," he growled.

"Silly fire boy," she laughed. "A succubus is immune to claim marks."

"What?" Iblis blinked. At this, Trishna showed interest.

"Sure, you can make it so that you can always see her. But just don't go thinking that you can claim a succubus. Also," Cydaea added. "Don't come around Vol's home anytime soon. You won't be well received."

"I was expecting that," Iblis muttered. He would always see Trishna as his now. Cydaea moved to gently touch her daughter's shoulder to let them both vanish. Iblis only sighed and, for some odd reason, found himself missing her presence. Maybe he should have kept her around longer.

* * *

Back at Vol's home, her father was hugging his daughter's crying form in his hedgehog form. And he was giving intense poisonous glares at Cydaea. "Vol, she's fine! It was needed!"

"At a cost to her mental health?!" Vol snarled. "Get out!"

"But…" Cydaea pouted.

"Right now, I need to help her. You will make it worse. Leave!" he ordered again. Cydaea could only sigh, but she understood. Her daughter would grow from this. It was just the shock from everything.

"And if Iblis comes here?" she asked.

"I will kill him," Vol seethed. She only nodded and vanished away. He let out a misted breath and let his form become his true one. He carried Trishna easily into his bedroom chamber to curl up around her. "I'm here. Daddy's here now. Hush. No one will hurt you."

"He wants…to use me…like…a toy!" she bawled. He growled at this. "And he…did things…to me…!"

"So, he succeeded," he sighed. He covered her up with a wing and glanced over at Fate when she walked in. He was almost ready to strike at her, but his mood changed to complete worry at the sight of her. She was not to blame and may be able to help Trishna.

"Daddy Vol? How is she?" she asked softly.

"Not good," Vol sighed again and let Fate move in to hug her sister to comfort her. When the others slowly came in, he gave a warning hiss of protective vigilance. Now he was ready to strike. He wanted no males around his daughter. At how a hint of rime started along his jaw, it showed he was ready to ice over any that dared to try and muscle their way in. But, when the intruder showed he was ready to back down, he settled to simply glare in complete warning.

"We'll wait outside," Shadow nodded respectfully. Now the slow climb of Trishna's mentality started to try and rebuild. She knew that Iblis was out there. But, he also did the impossible. He woke up her succubus side. If he tried to meet with her again to claim her, he may be dealing with a completely different side of her that he would never have expected. And, with the way he was, he couldn't wait to find out what else he could do with her.

* * *

Three months slipped by. Three long months, according to Iblis. His lust for Trishna was intense now. He couldn't understand it. What he didn't know was that it was a part of her succubus side. He tasted her as a virgin. He didn't know that he shouldn't have done that. She tainted him without even realizing it. If Cydaea knew this, she would have been rolling on the floor with laughter.

Since he marked her, he was able to sense where she was. And she was finally released from Vol's care. Her mother had been training her in how to use her new powers, but only when Vol knew his daughter was mentally stable. The moment she started to break down, he put a stop to the training. It took an intense month of care and spoiling to finally break the shock and depression that had settled in.

She had returned to her room in the castle of the Timekeepers after an additional two months of solid monitoring. Vol figured she would be safe enough there. He didn't know how wrong he was. The moment she was alone, she sensed that she soon wasn't.

"So, you have healed?" Iblis asked when he appeared.

"To an extent," she muttered. "I still hurt, but it's not as bad. And you shouldn't be here."

"I know," he said as he gazed over her figure. Even with the silks she wore, nothing was hidden from him.

"Then why are you here?" she asked as she regarded him.

"To claim what is mine," he growled and took a few steps forward to pull her against him.

"I am not yours," she said evenly and met his gaze. She winced when his finger brushed against the mark he gave her. "I'm getting that removed the moment I can."

"The only way it can be removed is if I'm dead," he smirked. She growled at him on learning this. Marks could never be removed, but they could be ignored. Her mother would need to teach her how to work with it.

"Fate will be here momentarily. I suggest that you leave," she warned.

"Fine. Then we'll leave," he said. At her glare, he chuckled.

"No. I said 'you' leave. Not 'we' leave. Bit of a difference there. So, you need to go," she said again. He ignored her completely by bending down to plant his mouth on hers. As furious as she wanted to be, her succubus side seemed to take over to deepen the kiss. She didn't want it, but her mother's side needed it. Even when he took her to the bed to claim her furiously as his own, she couldn't stop him. She wanted to claw him up. To fight him off. Instead, she let him finish in her and rest for a moment. Now that his mind was clear, he finally got up and walked away to head back out from where he came from.

She sat up on the bed now and cringed at herself. When the tears threatened to come, her succubus side seemed to take over. She wanted to get even with him for humiliating her like this. He didn't even stay a bit to show how much he appreciated it! At a knock on the door, she got up and straightened herself out as much as she could. Then she opened the door to find Fate there.

"Trish," she smiled. Then she paused at her look. Then she noticed the smell. "What…is that smell…?"

"Iblis…came back…" Trishna said with a carefully controlled breath. "And, yes. He got what he wanted."

"Is he still here?!" Fate asked.

"No. He's gone. He seems to find me when I'm alone. So, I do have an idea," Trishna said and turned to look out the window. "How long do you think you can stay up?"

"All night if I have to. Why?" she asked.

"I want you to hide and ambush him. We'll ask him questions. If he can't answer them, maybe your dad can block him from coming here," Trishna said. Fate thought over this and nodded. "And he told me this. He wants Lilith, too. He wants both the stars and the moon."

"Oh, he's not touching her!" Fate snarled. "I'll contact Mephy and see if he wants to help ambush Iblis."

"Okay," Trishna smiled softly.

"And you are coming with me!" Fate insisted and grabbed her hand to lead her out. "No more of you being alone!"

"Thanks…" she swallowed and got the sisterly hug she needed. "If only…he cared…"

"Well, he apparently does if he hasn't hit you. He still can't use you like he is. That's just disgusting!" she growled. Trishna could only nod and follow her down the hall.

* * *

Mephiles was very surprised when Fate called for him. He was even further intrigued at what was going to happen. He was all for ambushing his brother. To find out why he was still pursuing Trishna. She held no more interest to Mephiles at all, but because his brother still found her desirable was rather confusing to him. He sensed where his brother was and decided to show up at his side.

"Brother," Mephiles muttered out. "Why do you still find…her…appealing?"

"What's it to you to know of my affairs?" Iblis growled. "She does. And I'll leave it at that."

"It's not like you to relentlessly pursue with no goal."

"I do have a goal. She was, and is, only one part. I still lack the other."

"Oh?" Mephiles asked with a lucid form of boredom. "Is offspring the other?"

"No!" he snorted. "She is simply mine. That's all there is to it."

"So…" Mephiles started with amusement. "You simply…own her?"

"Yes. And I intend to own the other."

"Which other?" Mephiles asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he smirked. "Now leave me be."

"Not yet," Mephiles said. "I came to warn you. Do not go to Trishna's side anymore."

"I will do as I please," Iblis muttered and began to walk away again.

"Idiot…" he sighed and shook his head. He knew his brother was planning to see her again tonight. It was too obvious. He knew his brother was overly possessive. This was completely taking it up a notch. He left the underworld and went back to find Fate. He found her in the observatory with Trishna. When he appeared, he paused. Trishna was twinkling again. Now he stared with the same fascination that his brother did when he first saw her doing this. And now he realized why his brother found her desirable.

"Where were you?" Fate asked him.

"Hmm? Oh. Tracking him down. He's…stubborn," Mephiles snorted as he snapped out of his mild fascination. He had a much stronger will than Iblis ever did. And he was never truly interested in Trishna at all.

"We both know he is," she muttered. "Did you find out when he plans to come back?"

"He'll come back whenever he wants," he replied. "We know this."

"He'll be back tonight," Trishna said softly as her body continued to make small stars shoot off her form. "I can feel that he'll be back tonight."

"If you think so. We'll be ready for him," Fate growled.

"It will be a full moon, so Lilith will be out flying," Trishna sighed. "At least she'll be far from here."

"Good. I want her nowhere near him," she mumbled. "He may have laid claim to the stars. But like hell will he touch the moon!"

"I know," Trishna nodded. Now Mephiles blinked at this. Then it all made sense on what his brother said by only having one part. "I'm not sure where we can set the trap, though."

"I think I know where we can ambush him," Fate smiled.

"Where?" Trishna asked.

"Garden center. Remember how much you liked to dance there?" Fate grinned. "And the place is a bit fireproof. Father had to make sure of that."

"That can work. We'll go there after Lilith leaves," Trishna said. This was a new side of her. She was never known to plot. To take the lead in things. Her succubus side was vicious when it came to getting revenge. Before Mephiles could lose himself in thought, a small, twinkling light floated over to him. He was able to reach out and gently cup the light in his palm. It seemed to hover there before it winked out.

"What's on your mind?" Fate asked.

"Not much," Mephiles said. "I've never seen Trishna…do this before. And now I think I know why Iblis found himself desiring her. I could never fall in his shoes, but this…twinkling. It's unique."

"She got it from Daddy Vol's side. They can make themselves look like shooting stars when they fly at night," Fate chuckled. Mephiles blinked at this. He didn't know this. When the talk turned to what they planned to eat, Trishna was lost in her own thoughts. She knew that Sonic was very worried about her now. She would need to make some time to see him, but only after Iblis was dealt with. And she knew exactly what needed to be done.


	3. Something About Marks

It was around midnight when the garden center was approached. They made sure that Fate's parents were sleeping before sneaking out. They used to do this anyways, but it was easier with Mephiles helping them out with a quick portal jump with the shadows. Then he and Fate hid just a bit off from the main center. Trishna moved to stand on an old pedestal in the central circle. Then, much like a ballerina doll on circular motor, she began to spin and dance slowly. As she danced, she let herself get bathed in the light of the full moon.

When her body began to twinkle, Mephiles couldn't stop staring at how her form simply glowed so strongly. Then the stars started to spark off her to hover. Fate glanced over to watch him, but she was calm. He never saw this before. Many were always shocked to see her do this. Even Fate, herself, was shocked when she saw Trishna do this for the first time.

"Does she ever stop?" Mephiles asked in a light whisper.

"Not until the moon is gone," Fate said softly. "It's why she rarely does this."

"I see…" he said. Trishna's body seemed to glow even stronger for stronger stars to shoot off her and hover around her. They even lasted quite a bit longer than the usual stars that appeared, too. At the sight of two, oddly familiar green orbs appearing in the distance, Fate tensed.

"Trishna's exposed. She can't stop dancing right now. She's in a trance," Fate growled.

"So is he," Mephiles muttered out. When Iblis began to move towards the center garden, Fate quickly revealed herself to block him with a pillar of flame. Then she scowled when he walked through it. He was clearly unimpressed.

"Nice try," Iblis smirked. "We're both the same element."

"You can't touch her!" Fate scowled.

"I'm sure," Iblis mocked. When he moved to reach out and touch the twinkling figure, Trishna's wings snapped up and blocked him. Her succubus side was aware as her dragon side was not. That actually surprised Fate. Trishna's wings slowly unfolded to reveal her glowing silver orbs, but her cat's eye slits were glowing with the coals of an undying flame. The silver scale lines that started just under her eyes seemed to highlight her entire face this way. She was completely terrifying and beautiful now. This was the only time that both dragon and succubus personas would be acting in sync. It could only be done in this incredibly rare event.

"Iblis…" Trishna whispered softly. She was going to show how strong she was. And how immune she was to his mark. "Thank you for waking me up. But…I don't need you anymore."

"I will not give you up!" he growled and reached for her again. Her tail slapped his hand away. Then Fate hurled a massive fireball at him to shove him back.

"Don't touch my sister!" Fate shouted as her personality shifted. Her eyes suddenly became completely blue. As the sclera of her eyes became an iridescent blue, her pupils gained a reptilian, snake-like appearance. Mephiles grimaced at what just happened.

"Great. Just great," he sighed. Iblis growled and hurled his own fireballs at her. Mephiles didn't want anyone to be alerted, so he had to use his powers of shadow to hide the entire garden. He just hoped that Orion's fireproof spells held up. Trishna simply danced and sparkled as she watched the nearly evened out match of fire against fire.

There would have been an equal draw, save one thing. When it came to Dark Fate, she was relentless in her pursuit. By the time Iblis was finally brought to his knees from various physical and magical attacks, she went in for the kill. But, she found Trishna now floating gracefully over in a dance to end up standing tall. Her wings flicked out to shield Iblis from view. His glowing form was dim from the punishment he endured.

"You have done enough, sister. I will take it from here," Trishna said softly. As more sparkles twinkled and shimmered off her body to distract Fate, Mephiles finally walked over and covered his brother in shadows to help.

"Fate, I'm sure he's learned his lesson. Don't mess with you when you say you're mad," Mephiles said. "Or not to touch anything. Whichever comes first. Anyways, there is no need to finish him off. You've done enough to his ego."

"I should!" Fate spat. "He'll just do this again!"

"That he might. Or he might not," Trishna giggled and shrugged. "But, you need your beauty sleep. Aren't you tired? You will need to greet the sun in the morning."

"What do you plan to do with him?" Fate asked.

"Well…let's put it this way," Trishna said in a tone her mother would have used. "He marked me. I should return the favor. Shouldn't I?"

"Mark him? Oh…" Mephiles blinked. Then he grinned.

"Hmm. Okay. That works," Fate nodded.

"Anyways, I think I left a pie in the oven. Fate, come help me eat it," Mephiles said now that she started to calm down. "Trishna, we'll wait for you."

"That's fine," she nodded and watched him escort her sister away. When they were gone, Trishna turned slowly to look at Iblis from where he lay on the ground. She crouched her glowing form over his lightly pulsing one. "A shame. That it had to come to this…"

"I was…claiming…what was…mine…" he growled and hissed at the touch of a clawed finger going down his chest. He was too weak to stop her right now.

"Should I do the same?" she asked softly with her burning red cat's eye pupils. He tensed with surprise. "We can end all of this. Right now. If you claim me as your partner in full."

"I can't do that…" he said. She seemed to frown slightly and sat fully over his hips to tease him.

"A pity. So…if you go after Lilith…I can go after Sonic. Right?" she smirked slightly.

"No!" he hissed and gasped when she ground down on him.

"Then tell me…" she seemed to purr out in a soft thrum. "Why continue this pursuit?"

"Because…you're mine…" he muttered and trembled at the clawed hand to his cheek. She wanted to slap him. To tear open his throat in victory. Her dragon side wanted him to hurt and become her prey. Her succubus side wanted him to suffer for the rest of his life. Both sides agreed on the best thing. To mark him as prey and let him suffer for it. She moved to kiss him hard now and use him as she saw fit. Even though he was weak, he wasn't fully wounded. It was easy to bring him to his peak of pleasure and show him who was stronger at that moment.

Just as he began to show signs of strain, she moved her mouth along the base of his right horn. Then she grinned and bit down. The moment her teeth sank in, he howled with disbelief at it.

"And now…you're mine…" she muttered in his ear and licked his cheek. "To do with as I please…as I do for you as you please. If we cannot be equals as mates…we'll be equals as toys."

"You…how dare you…" he gasped and trembled.

"And I'm not done with my toy," she murmured and embraced him for her twinkling body to simply teleport them to her bedroom. No one would hear from them until the morning.

* * *

When she woke in the morning, it was on her bed on top of Iblis's chest. He was still snoring, and he had a single arm wrapped around her in a complete act of claim. She was considerably hungry, though. She had to move.

"Mmm," he seemed to grunt and tighten his arm around her. She could only think that he said 'mine'. She sighed and tried to move again. This time his next word was clearer. "No."

"Why not?" she asked now.

"Because you might go back to that other guy," he growled.

"Iblis, just tell me I'm your life partner and it will be done," she said.

"No," he muttered.

"So stubborn!" she groaned. "Lilith isn't going to want you now, you know."

"You don't know that."

"Um, hello? I marked you. Out of vengeance. Just as you marked me out of possession. There is no care out of it. So it shouldn't matter who I'm with if I'm not supposed to care about who you're with. As a succubus, I may need more than just you," she said in a point-blank way. "And you know this."

"And your dragon side will just need me," he retorted.

"Not if you're going after other girls!" she growled. Most of her dragon side was back now. He gave a small grumble. "So, let me go so I can go eat something."

"Only if you promise to come back," he said. Now she looked at him oddly. He was glancing away from her and trembling. Now she sighed and leaned into him.

"You may as well talk to me," she said. For a moment he said nothing. But then he squeezed her gently.

"Trish…" he said softly. That surprised her that he used a nickname on her. "I really don't like the thought of you being with another guy. I meant it when I said that. Yeah, I know. You're partly a succubus. But I see you as mine. No, I'm not going to make you my partner. No, I'm not letting you go. Yes, I know you marked me out of spite for what I did to you. I don't care."

"Then what is really the driving factor for you to keep me?" she frowned.

"Because you are too unique for me to simply let you go," he said. "I can't let you slip away from me."

"And what is it that makes me so unique?"

"The way you can create stars," he said and kept her close. "Sure, I could let you go. But then another may snatch you up. I just want you where I know I can see you. Where I know that I can find you."

"At the cost of what? My happiness?" she asked now. "You are asking for too much."

"I don't care if I am," he growled. "I just want you here. With me."

"And you're telling me that you can't simply make me your equal?" she asked. "Because if you don't, then you know that I'm going to talk to Sonic."

"No!" he growled and crushed her to him. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I marked you! You're mine!"

"Of course, Iblis. Of course," she muttered. She found her mouth covered by his shortly after when he moved to claim her in full. After he shouted with her, he rolled to have her rest on him.

"I can't let you go…" he whispered. "Because if I did…I'd have no one else…"

"You could ask Lilith…" she said, but she felt him tremble.

"No. I mean, sure. I can see what she says. And I know I'll still try. But, do you honestly think she would accept me after what I did to you?" he asked bleakly. She sighed and shook her head. "Even though it was your mother's idea, I can't let you go. After seeing everything you can do…"

"What are you trying to tell me?" she asked.

"I can't have you be my equal in being my partner. I just…I'm not worthy of that part…" he admitted. "I don't want kids, either. But…I can't let you go. I have to keep you."

"I'm not an item," she said.

"I know that. I just need you with me. That's what I want," he said in a stubborn way.

"And if I'm called away from you to do something for my Dad?" she asked.

"I'll accept that," he said. "I won't get in Vol's way. I respect him. But I will want to make sure you return to me."

"You're making me feel like I'm already your equal," she muttered with a slight form of irritation. All he did was give a mild shrug. "I'll see about returning here after I get something to eat."

"Very well," he said and planted another kiss on her mouth before letting her go. He watched her dress in her two piece garments of silver silks. Even as he watched her leave the room, he craved for her to come back to his side. Forcing himself to lie back in the bed, he sighed heavily and waited.

* * *

When Trishna got to the royal kitchens, Fate was there with Lilith. The moon princess was already informed of what was going on. She was royally pissed off.

"Trish?!" she said. At the hurtful look she was given now, Lilith reigned herself in. "I know. It's not your fault. I'm just…shocked by everything."

"He seduced me…" Trishna whimpered.

"Yeah. Fate told me that," she said.

"He's still in my room, too," Trishna whispered. "He doesn't want to let me go."

"What?" Fate blinked.

"I tried to talk to him. To get more out. He said that he couldn't see me as his equal, but he didn't want me to go to anyone else, either. He doesn't want kids. He also said that I was too unique to him to let go. I just…I don't know what to do!" Trishna shivered. Lilith and Fate both hugged her. "I really hate Mother right now!"

"Yeah," Lilith frowned.

"He still wants you, Lilith," Trishna swallowed. "I…marked him, too. Out of revenge. He marked me first to make me his. But, he only sees me as an item. I don't know what to do. I talk about Sonic, and he gets so jealous! I just…what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, he can't have me," Lilith muttered. "I'm writing him off."

"Did he even say why he wouldn't let you go?" Fate asked.

"It's like I said. He just feels that he can't," Trishna said. "But I'm hungry. Like starving."

"You were dancing last night," Fate smiled softly and already had a plate of raw meat ready for her. It was quickly tackled and torn into savagely.

"You know," Lilith mused. "If she can't go to Sonic, then let's bring him here."

"Oh, my gosh!" Fate giggled wickedly. "Iblis would be so pissed!"

"He did tell me that if Dad needed me that he'd let me go to him," Trishna mused after she ate ravenously. "I could go home and let Sonic meet me there."

"Nah! Let's bring Sonic here," Lilith snickered. "I want to see what Iblis does!"

"We should bring Shadow, too," Fate said.

"You think so?" Lilith grinned at her. Trishna just sighed and chuckled. The twins knew exactly how to get a good battle started. But it would confirm something. If Iblis truly did desire Trishna, or showed a scrap of care for her, then this would be a definite way to prove it.

"I'll go pick him up," Fate said. "Trish, you should go back to the garden."

"Wait," Trishna said. "I told Iblis I'd go back to him."

"Don't do it," Lilith said. "He won't let you leave. So, I'll play distraction."

"Do you really want to lower your IQ like that?" Fate teased.

"Shut up," Lilith smirked. "I'll play dumb, anyways. Like I don't know what is going on with Trish. You get Sonic here. I'll keep Iblis occupied with the usual hard to get stuff."

"Okay," Fate nodded. "Trish, go to the garden. Same spot from last night."

"Right," Trishna nodded. When Lilith left to go face Iblis, a touch of jealousy surged in her. Then she squashed it. It was all from his mark. He didn't love her, and he couldn't love her. Refocusing on the garden, she made her way there. What she didn't know was the surprise that Iblis was going to give Lilith. He used to enjoy seeing her. Now he was going to feel a touch of disappointment that it wasn't Trishna that came back to him. That was from her mark on him. She would likely be informed later. Right now, she had to prepare for Sonic's arrival.

* * *

Sonic jumped at the chance to go to the palace. He had only been there a few times and always enjoyed it. He loved visiting exotic and hard to reach places when he could.

"You should visit the gardens! They're lovely right now," Fate beamed at him.

"I'll do that," he grinned. After she left, he sighed and took in the sights. The place never ceased to amaze him. It was very easy to find the gardens, too. As he walked into them, he paused as he heard a soft humming. And he recognized the tone. Now he realized why he was told to come here, and he made his way to the sound. When he saw Trishna, he stood there in a silent bit of reflection. She was twirling a leaf in a small fountain pool and lying on her side on the soft, grassy ground. And he noticed something else. She was incredibly upset. "Trishna?"

She looked over now, and he saw that his suspicions were right. She was crying softly. He moved swiftly to her side and sat next to her. She just cringed and sat up to look away from him. "I'm sorry, Sonic. She shouldn't have brought you here. You should go back."

"No. Trish, what happened?" he asked.

"It's just…one giant mess!" she gasped and found herself hugged by him. She blinked at this. Even he was surprised at himself, but he wasn't going to complain. She even found herself burying her face into his arms. He ran a gloved hand through her hair tenderly. Her looks never bothered him. He always found her feminine horns rather cute and becoming on her. When his hand moved to gently pet between her wings, he felt her tremble.

"Talk to me. Confide in me. I've always been there for you. Yeah, rough start from you thinking I was food at first, but you never backed down on me. I'm not gonna back down on you, either. So, talk to me now," he muttered. "I know you were with Vol for a while. Recovering from what that…that…thing…did to you…!"

"It only got worse," she softly admitted. "No, I'm not pregnant. I don't want kids from him. That's a…mutual thing. It's just…complicated now…"

"Tell me," he said. She sighed and managed to confess to him what happened just the previous night. At the rage he felt at this, he was even further disgusted from the conversation that happened in the morning. "So, you marked him to get even and make him suffer? And he admitted that he doesn't care about you?! This is…"

"You shouldn't…be here…" she whimpered. He still didn't let her go. She still kept her face hidden in his arms. He thought over everything hard.

"Tell me this. How can a mark get removed?" he asked.

"Only by killing the one that marked the other," she whispered. He cringed at this and squeezed her. But then he got an odd idea.

"Can someone take over the mark of another?" he asked now. She blinked at this.

"I don't know," she said. "I know that Mother told me that a succubus doesn't have to obey a mark. It's pretty much proven with me. As much as I feel the urge to return to him, I don't have to. It's like…I can push the thought away. But…for you to simply…take it over? I don't know. Mother might know, though."

"Hmm," he thought aloud. "Where did he mark you?"

"Um…" she winced. Now an instinct surged in her. To keep it hidden. At her sudden silence, and at the way she stiffened up, he glanced down at her.

"Do I have to find it?" he asked. She seemed to whine at this. Now he knew how bad it was. This was how Iblis controlled her. Narrowing his eyes, he pressed his muzzle against her hair to sniff. It was something he never did before. Something was making him do this. It was an urge to take her back. To reclaim her. He wasn't a demon, but there was something else in his blood that was honorable. He had to try and help her. When he found the offending bite mark along her hairline, he licked it. At the gasp of disbelief she gave out that it was found, he growled and bit down right on it.

"Sonic!" she shouted with complete surprise. He didn't let go. He was completely shocked at himself for what he was doing. It was totally unlike him. He could only hold onto her in the same area with his teeth digging into the mark. He growled when he felt her try to move. Only after she went still did finally release her.

"I'm not leaving," he muttered roughly in her ear. "If Iblis wants to pick a fight with me, then let him. I'm done with him making you suffer."

Now she finally rose up to look at him, and he could almost swear that her eyes had gotten impossibly large just then and there. He did the only thing he could do. He leaned over and kissed her.

"Sonic…" she breathed after the kiss was done.

"I love you, Trishna-volcir," he said with a serious growl. "And I'll rip Iblis apart if he tries to take you away from me."

* * *

Iblis felt that something just went spinning out of control. And it was in the same moment that Sonic bit down on Trishna's mark. When Lilith was in mid-sentence, he gave out a savage snarl of hatred and charged out of the bedroom. Lilith's jaw simply dropped. He never dismissed her like that before. Even more were the guards that he simply plowed through like nothing when they thought the castle was breached. He was on a mission, and he was heading straight to the gardens.

"What's going on?!"Orion shouted over the chaos.

"It's Iblis, Your Majesty! He's here! In the castle!" a guard said.

"What?!" Orion gaped. "Protect the Queen! And call Vol!"

"Yes! It will be done!" the guard agreed and rushed off. When Orion looked into the future briefly to see what was going on, he paused with complete shock. He made his way to the gardens. What he saw had him in complete disbelief. Trishna was shivering on the ground. Sonic and Iblis were squaring off and shouting insults at each other.

"You don't love her!" Sonic glared.

"It doesn't matter! She's mine!" Iblis howled and began to call up the lava.

"For what?! To be used as a trophy? You're an idiot!" Sonic growled and ran swiftly out of the way from a wash of flame that tried and failed to catch him. "She's more than that, and you know it!"

"Enough!" Orion thundered out at them both. When Vol landed in his natural form, all of the fighting was done. He simply curled his body up around his daughter to calm her, and he settled on the grass to show that he wasn't leaving. Then he shielded her from sight with a giant silver wing. Now that his daughter was shielded by him, the massive silver dragon gave scalding glares at both Sonic and Iblis.

"Orion, calm yourself," Vol said. "The two of you. Explain. Now. As much as I'd freeze you both for incompetence, I'll give you both one chance to explain yourselves like responsible adults."

"I love her. He doesn't. What more is there to say?" Sonic growled out.

"I claimed her. She's mine. You have no say so!" Iblis growled out at Sonic. When Fate and Lilith appeared, Orion turned to glare at them both.

"Both of you are grounded until further notice. Go to your rooms. And don't argue," Orion said.

"But…Father!" Fate said. Lilith was simply stunned.

"No. You both knew what was going on and you didn't get me. You endangered the kingdom and Trishna's health. Go. To. Your. Rooms. Now," Orion said sternly.

"We were only trying to help her," Lilith frowned.

"You went about it the wrong way. So, for your safety and my sanity, go back to your rooms and wait," Orion said in a gentler manner. Fate muttered to herself, but she nodded and flew off. Lilith swallowed, but noticed that Iblis wasn't even looking at her. He was glaring at the spot where Trishna was. It actually stung her a bit. After she flew off, Orion sighed and looked over at Vol. The dragon was already sketching out a summoning circle to call Cydaea.

"I'm here. Oh! This is new," the succubus chuckled at where she was. Then she saw who was around her. When she saw the state her daughter was in when Vol revealed her, she narrowed her eyes. It was when she noticed the bleeding on her daughter's neck that curiosity fully hit her. She leaned down to fully inspect it and seemed to grimace. "I know this is the gardens and all. But…hmm. Interesting. Who bit her? That looks like a mark…"

"What?!" Vol thundered with rage. He didn't know his daughter was bitten.

"I bit her," Iblis admitted. "To mark her as mine."

"And I bit that same spot just a bit ago to try and reverse what was done," Sonic said in a mutter.

"I'm taking her home," Vol said and gathered up his daughter. "Iblis…I'll kill you if you come anywhere near her. Sonic, I understand what you did and why. But I'm not happy about it. The same warning goes to you. You both caused harm to her. Intentional or not. I spent three months trying to help her heal!"

"Daddy, I'm okay," Trishna said softly. "I just don't know how to fix this."

"Vol, even you know that simply taking her away from this isn't going to fix this," Cydaea sighed.

"Well, she did mark me in vengeance," Iblis grunted.

"What?!" Cydaea gaped. Now Vol looked at Trishna with confusion.

"My succubus side wanted him to suffer," Trishna winced. "My dragon side wanted him to be in pain. It was a…mutual decision on both my sides."

"Hmm," Orion thought. "Well, if my kingdom isn't going to come under any further harm, I have to see to calming down the guards and getting order back to them."

"Go. We've got it from here," Vol nodded. Sonic was only glaring at the ground. Then he paused at the warm hand placed on his shoulder from Cydaea.

"What you did was very brave. And also very stupid," the succubus smirked. "What made you decide to bite her?"

"I don't know," Sonic admitted. "It was just…this whole situation! It was disgusting. I had to try and help her."

Orion was still a touch in shock that everything was centered around Trishna. Nothing ever happened to her like this before, but when a succubus was forced to come into play, trouble always happened. This was a solid truth.

"Trishna, I'm sorry you have to go through all of this," Orion said. At how she looked at him now, he found himself catching his breath. There was such a sadness in her eyes that it actually tugged at him to try and help comfort her. There was also something else deeply rooted in him that was locked away that began to resurface. If only slightly. Something had definitely triggered. It would have been thought of, but Cydaea was quick to act.

"Oh, no!" Cydaea gaped and quickly moved to spin Orion around. "Go back to Solina! Now!"

"What was…?!" Orion blinked as his mind righted itself.

"I'll explain later! Go!" Cydaea urged again. Orion nodded and quickly flew off. Vol was now completely disturbed. Trishna's Siren powers were going haywire with unintentional side effects. She was starting to affect others. "Vol…"

"I know. There's only one way to calm her down now. Thanks, Cydaea," he growled. "Iblis, you get one chance to leave now. When Trishna is stable again, I'll call for you. Sonic, you have to come back with us."

"Why can't I go with her?" Iblis growled out.

"Because right now, you can't do what's needed!" Vol growled out dangerously. He was still in his true form. He was ready to freeze Iblis over. The molten fire-type hedgehog only scowled softly, but he quickly left the area. Sonic was completely clueless as to what was going on, but he soon found himself in Vol's home from a quick teleport there. Cydaea sighed softly.

"Sonic, my daughter's Siren powers are immense. On being part dragon, I had no idea how severe it would be if her mind isn't balanced," she explained gently. "So, this once, we are going to allow this. In order for you to help her, you have to have sex with her."

"What?!" Sonic gaped with shock.

"You bit her. Until Iblis bites her again, he can't really do anything. You have to help her. That mark now, technically, belongs to you. That is how another gains control. They bite the same area. It's like a temporary wedding brand. Not official, but it's a claim marking for demons. So, since you bit her, only you can help her fix her mental frame of thought. Sex will help. Do you know how to have sex?"

"I know how it works…" he said in a flustered way.

"Ah. Never did it before, huh?" she smirked. "Well, that's gonna change. Go wait in her room for her. She'll be there soon. Go on!"

"Wait," Sonic said. "Have any bitten you?"

"Hundreds of times!" she laughed. "But, as a succubus, I'm immune. Yes, Trishna has some of that immunity, too, but she doesn't quite know how to get it to work. She'll learn!"

"Trishna said she bit Iblis, but it was for revenge."

"Yeah, I know. Sucks to be him," she grinned wickedly. "He won't find any others desirable except for her."

"So…he'll keep going after her?" Sonic grimaced.

"Yeah. It can't be helped. I mean, I could try to take over his mark. I wonder if I can," she mused. "But we'll see what happens. Until then, our main focus is Trishna. If her Siren powers fully escape, then no one will be safe."

"How?" he asked. Then Cydaea's tone got mournful.

"She'll be able to seduce anyone she wants without even knowing. From your friends. To those she loves dearly. To anyone that doesn't even seem interested in her. She'll have no control. And after it wears off, she'll remember every bit of it. It would just…well…it's best for you to help her."

"It happened to you. Didn't it?" Sonic asked.

"Trust me. The last thing she would want is to seduce her father's best friend. Yeah, his heart belongs to Solina. But…even you saw his reaction to her. Vol is immune to her on being her father. But…can you only imagine what would happen if he had to endure that?" she asked. Sonic swallowed and sighed. He was pointed to the direction of Trishna's room, and he moved into it to wait.

* * *

In the underworld, Iblis was livid. He was tense. He felt a severe sense of loss. His prize was stolen from him. He was already planning to get her back.

"Hey, fire boy," Cydaea said when she appeared close by.

"Is she with you?" he asked.

"No. Vol has her," she shrugged. "So, I thought you may want to spend some time with me."

"No," he muttered. "I just want her."

"But…Sonic bit over where you did. She belongs to him now," she said.

"Lies!" Iblis snapped at her. Cydaea actually blinked at this. This wasn't normal at all. Now she mused to herself.

"Tell me," she purred gently. "When you first had Trishna…what all did you do with her?"

"I tasted her before I claimed her," he growled.

"So you…put your tongue on her before she lost her virginity?" she asked to make sure. At his nod, she paused. Then she started laughing uncontrollably. "Oh! You poor fool!"

"I did nothing wrong!" he growled.

"But…you did…!" she gasped. "Succubus 101 training! You _never_ taste a virgin succubus for fear of becoming tainted! Oh, you are locked to her in full!"

"What?!" Iblis asked her with wide, glowing green eyes.

"You won't ever get enough of her now!" Cydaea chortled. "That's what this is all about! Not the marking at all! You tasted her as a virgin. A virgin! You corrupted yourself. And don't blame her. She didn't know. And I had completely forgotten about this."

"Then…" Iblis blinked. Now it all made sense as to why he needed her in his possession. He did, anyways, but the stronger sensations now fit into place. "How do I control this?"

"I hate to say it, but by reclaiming her. Maybe even making her your life partner in full," she shrugged.

"She made that offer to me several times…" he admitted.

"And you declined her?!" Cydaea actually gasped at this.

"I did…" he sighed. "Because I didn't want her that way."

She ran a hand over her face and shook her head. "Yeah, you screwed yourself over. Good luck trying to get her back! Anyways, I could try to take over her mark on you."

"No," he glowered in a dangerous way.

"Really?" she asked with disbelief. Then she realized that he liked being marked by Trishna. "You really are corrupted by her! Incredible!"

"When I see her again, she will belong to me," he vowed. "Mark my words."

"Well, marking is the name of the game here," she sighed. As she watched him walk off, she clucked her tongue and vanished away to tell Vol what she found out.

* * *

Sonic had decided to take it upon himself to fix up the pile of treasures and silks that was Trishna's bed. He made it rather bowl-like with some of the softer fabrics in the center. When he heard a small giggling gasp, he turned to glance over his shoulder to smile at her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Fixing your bed," he chuckled. "What do you think?"

"Um…" she thought and gave a small shrug. "I don't know. I've never had it like this before."

"Want to try it out?" he asked now. As she moved to inspect the mound, he calmly removed his gloves and boots. He watched her settle in first. Then he moved in next to her.

"What?!" she blinked. At his gaze, she shivered in silent knowing. Nothing more was said. When he managed to remove her clothing, he only looked at her with a silent form of wonder. His hands moved to soon touch what he saw, and she tensed. At this, he narrowed his eyes. She was used to the touch of Iblis.

"After this," he muttered out. "It's only me."

"How do we know that?" she asked and gasped when he moved to nuzzle his mouth over her mark.

"Because this right here," he said and licked the bite mark. "Is mine."

"He could…try and…" she whimpered. His thumb moved over her lips to quiet her.

"He can try. He will fail," he said and moved over now. "As of now, you're mine."

"As an item?" she winced.

"No," he soothed gently and felt himself positioning over her to ready himself for what he knew he had to do next. "You will never be a possession with me."

Tears fell now and she cried out when he thrust up into her. He held himself there for a moment to simply relish the feel of her before building up a rhythm. It wasn't much longer that he found himself grunting out his release. The odd thing was that he could have sworn he heard Iblis's howl of rage. In the end, he only grinned softly.

"I think I just pissed him off. I don't care, really," he said and let her rest against him.

"Who?" she frowned.

"Iblis. I heard him. He's not happy," he mused.

"I think…it's from my mark," she sighed. "Since he gave it to me first, I mean…"

"I know. And that would make sense. Anyways, like I said. I don't care. He didn't care about you. You offered to be his equal and he tossed it aside. He's not worthy of you."

"Yeah," she agreed softly. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Well," he said and put his arms behind his head. "Cydaea told me, in so many words before you got here, that I had to help you out this way. Vol knows this, too. He knows that I won't hurt you. And that I would respect you. And I do. Also, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm?" she said in a lightly sleepy way.

"Would you be my life partner?" he asked. Now she looked at him with surprise.

"I…" she swallowed and shivered. She wanted to accept. Something was holding her back. They both knew what it was, and Sonic was seething.

"So, you can't accept until he's out of the way…" he growled. At a tear that fell now, he pulled her close. "Don't cry. There's no need for that. We'll figure something out. Okay?"

"Okay," she shivered and found herself getting kissed and claimed again. Then she cried out when he gently bit down on her mark again as he took her. This constant reminder that she was his had to be instilled. This was how he needed to help her. He was going to be with her as often as he had to.

* * *

It was three days later when Sonic finally appeared with Trishna in his home world. Everyone had questions for them, but Sonic rose up his gloved hands to calm them down. Fate was there with Mephiles the moment she learned that they were back on familiar soil. Mephiles was simply curious as to what was going on. He watched how Sonic carefully set Trishna in a chair in the main meeting room and kept a hand on her shoulder.

"Just so you all know," Sonic said with a small smile. "Trishna is mine. I claimed her. After this whole mess with Iblis is done, we intend to get married."

"What?!" Mephiles blinked from where he was with Fate.

"Vol and Cydaea, her parents, approve of me. No, don't ask how they approved. It's not needed," he warned. As he continued to discuss the plans for the future, Mephiles blinked. He sensed his brother nearby. This wasn't going to be a good meeting, but he wasn't going to intervene, either.

"Sonic…" Trishna whispered. She felt Iblis getting closer.

"It's okay," he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. Then he saw Fate's jaw drop before setting with rage. "Let me guess. He's behind me."

"Yep," Mephiles nodded. His brother had silently appeared from the shadowed corner nearby to move directly behind Trishna. Then he neatly shoved Sonic out of the way and placed his hands right on her arms.

"Don't try to follow us," Iblis warned and quickly teleported away with her.

"Why didn't the alarms go off?!" Sonic raged. Fate was already making a portal to get back to the castle. Mephiles was clearly amused and decided to try to track down his brother.

"Um, the alarms were melted…" Tails grimaced when he smelled burning plastic and metal from where they were installed around the perimeters. Sonic ground his teeth together and moved swiftly to the main control unit of the building. Then he shouted his rage to find that all of this equipment was melted down.

"We'll get her back," Shadow muttered to him. Sonic was beyond reasoning now. There was no way to get through to him. That was until Orion showed up with Fate.

"Sonic," Orion said calmly. "Where were you standing and where was Trishna sitting?"

"Here," Sonic said and fast-walked over to where he was with her last. Orion studied the energy pattern in the air and thought. Then he pulled out a silver scale and rubbed it. Vol was quick to appear shortly after in his own portal.

"What is it?" the burnished silver, over-muscled, dragon-winged hedgehog asked. He flicked his tail and glanced about with solid silver eyes.

"Iblis," Sonic muttered. Now Vol let out a small, hissing breath of disbelief.

"She's gone?" Vol asked.

"Yeah," Sonic trembled. "I got shoved aside. He melted our defensive detections."

Vol looked at the others there. They were all at a loss on what to do. Then he looked at his old friend and said, "We know he won't hurt her. Mephiles is gone. Do I contact Cydaea?"

"I'm not sure," Orion frowned. "Sonic? What do you think?"

"I don't know," Sonic shivered now.

"I know you love her," Vol said and rested a hand on his shoulder. "And we will get her back. And, no, I will not show any form of mercy if she's hurt."

"I know," he nodded and wiped a tear away. "I had just…brought her back…to…"

"I know," Vol sighed and shielded him with a wing when the tears truly began to fall. Orion was frowning greatly now and shaking his head. "I'll call Cydaea in a bit. We'll find her."


	4. Reborn Darkness and Bargains

Iblis was calmly carrying his prize back to his secret hiding place. He needed to reestablish his connection with her.

"Why?" she asked him softly.

"You know why," he said as he carried her.

"You don't love me."

"Hush," he muttered. "I know I'm being hunted. I know I'm endangering myself and you."

"And you don't care," she whispered.

"When it comes to what happens to me, no. But…I do care about what happens to you. So, I'll keep you hidden away. I'll feed you and care for you."

"I am not a pet," she growled.

"No. You're my equal," he said and chuckled softly at her slack-jawed look.

"I can't be that now…" she whispered. Then she cried out when he swiftly moved to bite at the mark to reclaim her. A kiss was pressed to her mouth shortly after, and he turned when he sensed Mephiles. Iblis wasn't showing any form of irritation, though. He had time to prepare.

"You're in trouble," Mephiles smirked.

"I know," Iblis shrugged.

"Vol is hunting you."

"I don't care."

"I can take her back and this can be avoided."

"No. She stays with me. She's mine. Go back to Fate," Iblis growled and called up a wall of glowing lava rock to block his brother out. Mephiles was taken by surprise at this. When he got around the blockage, Iblis was already gone. He sighed hard and shook his head. Then he paused when he sensed Cydaea.

"I just missed him?" she asked.

"Yes. The wall was from him," he said. She scanned around and noticed where the portal direction was. She spread her wings and followed the direction. Mephiles was now a touch impressed. As an older demoness, she would know portal directions if they were fresh. She had a small window to try and track it down.

Iblis was back in the volcano he kept Trishna at before. This time, it wasn't dormant. If it wasn't for her succubus blood, her dragon side would have been very uncomfortable. She was ice and mist based as a silver hybrid.

"I have…specific needs…" she whimpered softly. At this, he seemed to laugh.

"I did my research on you," he said and moved to a back wall to open it. A treasure vault was there for her to sleep in. Another offshoot of a room was filled with racks of raw meat that were enchanted to stay fresh in any environment. She was completely shocked.

"I…" she shivered. Then she gasped when he set her down on the treasures and removed her silk clothing. He wasn't just removing them, though. He was ripping them off her.

"You're getting new clothes," he growled and moved his mouth over her panting form. "Anything that…he touched…is now garbage to me…"

"But…" she whimpered and cried out when he began to mate her.

"You can't tell me," he purred. "That you didn't miss me."

She hated herself. Her succubus side did miss him. Her dragon side longed for Sonic. Iblis knew what her succubus side needed and wanted. He was a worthy mate to her. But Sonic respected her and loved her. He was a worthy mate to her dragon side. She was completely torn. Even after the needy mating was done and her back was getting massaged by heated hands, she was at a loss of what to do. She loved two males. In the end, she could only choose one. She hated it.

* * *

Back at Sonic's home, a plan of action was being discussed. Vol and Orion had to wait to see what Cydaea found out. Mephiles confirmed that Iblis was hiding Trishna away. Lilith knew where some of Iblis's old haunts were, and she was there to tell them all where to look. The dormant volcano was one of them, but now this was going to be conflicting. The volcano was no longer dormant and would cause confusion. It was what Iblis planned on.

What she also didn't know was that Iblis was constructing a small base of operations. A series of catacombs and underground mazes were being created to have them all get lost in. The volcano center was going to be the heart, but like hell was he going to make it easy to reach. Even Mephiles was going to get redirected around with false energy patterns. Iblis definitely had time to plan ahead. No one bothered to check on him.

"Sonic," Shadow said when he walked over.

"What?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"What did you do with Trish for three days?" he asked now. Sonic sighed and decided to be honest.

"I had sex with her," he said bluntly and walked off to leave his friend stunned. Sonic was too overcome with grief to really be that much help, but it was Vol that understood the most. If any tried to get Sonic to do anything, it was Vol that was quick to appear to force them to back off.

"Sonic, Cydaea is searching. Just keep that in mind," Vol would remind him calmly. "When she wants her prey, she's relentless. It was how she found me."

"Was it?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, yes," Vol chuckled. He easily relayed the story of the Grecian vase. Sonic was very surprised at all of this. Then he learned Trishna's age. He was in shock that she could be his ancestor. But, dragons lived very long lives. As he continued to talk to Sonic and stand up for him, Fate was silently meditating in Trishna's room. She was hoping to try and contact her. Even Lilith was trying to focus on Trishna to try and get into some kind of a telecommunicated conversation in another room. It was a secret the three girls kept to themselves. On being linked together from their powers, they discovered this by pure accident. After that, they made use of it whenever they wanted. It was a touch draining at times, but this was urgent. They had to find Trishna.

 _~Anything?~_ Fate asked her sister.

 _~Nothing! It's like she's just…she's gone…~_ Lilith whispered bleakly.

 _~Let's try working together.~_ Fate suggested. At Lilith's agreement, they combined their thoughts together and reached out. It worked.

 _~Fate? Lilith?!~_ Trishna gasped.

 _~Trishna!~_ they both cried out. They had to keep their thoughts in sync to reach her. If they separated, then the link to her would be lost. _~Where are you?!~_

 _~A…volcano…~_ Trishna gasped in the link again. _~Iblis…is with me…and…massaging me…so…~_

 _~It's fine. Just stay calm.~_ the twins said together. _~If we separate our thoughts, we'll lose you. Are you being abused? Are you hurting?~_

 _~No…~_ she admitted. _~He's actually…spoiling me. And he…said…I am his…equal. But…I love Sonic! And yet…love Iblis, too. My sides…succubus and dragon…they are conflicting. I really can't…focus…~_

 _~Tell us where you are!~_ they pressed together.

 _~What was sleeping…is no longer sleeping.~_ Trishna had to say to them in a riddle. _~Iblis…is keeping close watch. He's prepared. He's waiting. You have…been warned…~_

The connection abruptly disconnected, and the twins were quick to meet up physically to discuss what she meant.

"What was sleeping no longer sleeps?" Fate frowned.

"Hmm. Let's ask Daddy Vol. He's good with riddles," Lilith said. Fate nodded and they rushed over to him. "Daddy Vol, what sleeps, but no longer sleeps? I know that Iblis likes volcanoes…"

"Sleeps but no longer sleeps?" Vol mused. "And volcanoes…of course! It was dormant before! Asleep! Now it's awake! Trishna may be being held in an active volcano!"

"So, Iblis made a sleeping volcano…" Fate gaped with shock. Vol would have asked what made them think of this, but was too busy trying to track down his daughter now.

"He's clever. I'll give him that," Mephiles muttered out when the new plan was being told. "I should help out here. I can help you prepare for him."

"No," Orion said. "You can help us by tracking down the volcanoes that your brother liked to hang out at. So, you need to join Cydaea in the search."

"I would rather stay here," Mephiles growled. He really wanted to keep an eye on Fate. He didn't like how Shadow was encroaching on her.

"No. Join the search," Orion ordered with a growl of his own. Mephiles scowled, but he didn't want to lose what trust he was starting to rebuild. Even Vol was glaring at him. They were much older than him, and the two of them together was something even he didn't want to tangle with. Protective fathers were always a handful. And Vol was clearly the deadlier of the two right now.

"Hey," Shadow said when he saw Fate.

"Hey," she said softly. He rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We'll figure something out," he said. She could only nod and sigh.

"At least…he's not hurting her," she said.

"Still a dirty thing of him to do."

"Yeah."

"How do you know that she's okay?" he asked now.

"She's my sister. I just know," she smiled. She couldn't tell anyone of the secret link she had. Such things might become lost if they became known. He nodded at that and turned to leave. Mephiles watched the little scene in the background. He was not happy about it.

* * *

"Iblis!" Trishna scowled. He had her dress in silks ranging from silver to deep blue in colors. Her clothing seemed to be a simple sheet of silver silk that draped over her chest. A rope of silver clasped to each dangling piece to loop around her neck in the form of an ornate necklace with sapphire gems. Another rope of silver was around her hips with the same shimmering silk along the front of her hips and back with just enough room for her tail to maneuver. She looked every bit like the royal princess she was meant to be.

Now he was placing select pieces of silver and sapphire jewelry on her. At the delicate circlet he placed on her now, she thought it was too much. It settled neatly on her brow to simply bond into her striped hair. The single, large teardrop star sapphire shimmered in the very center of it, as ropes of silver twine held it in place with elaborate decorations. He was amused to discover that her pointed ears could hold piercings, and she now had matching stones in loops of silver hanging off her ears. Matching armlets decorated her upper arms, but bracelets and rings didn't work from her dragon-based hands and arms. From her elbows down, they were fully draconic limbs. Her legs were draconic from her calf muscles to her feet. Iblis found her body simply fascinating.

"As my equal, you are to be dressed as such," he said. "Do not complain."

"I just don't understand why you are doing this," she frowned.

"It's been long overdue," he muttered and pulled her into his arms. He knew she was still upset. He was keeping her from her friends and family, after all. Despite the tainting she did to him, he was a bit surprised at how he never bothered to notice her before. She was overlooked by a lot of men. It was actually something that Vol planned on. He didn't want her succubus nature to awaken. He knew that something like this would have happened.

"I don't like this," she whispered. He only ran a hand through her hair to force her to relax. She was more than just a succubus to him. She was a very beautiful and stunning creature. He made no plans to lose her again.

"You're mine," he hissed and breathed in her rain-like scent. With her succubus side out, the rain seemed to carry a scent of smoke with it. It was much like a smell of rain incense now. It made him crave to have her even closer than before. He doubted that Sonic truly understood exactly how powerful she was now. The way he saw it, she was stronger than Lilith. "He will never understand your true nature like I do."

"You don't know that," she whispered.

"Your mother knew," he said and nuzzled into her hair. "She knew the true power you held. You hold the power of ice, seduction and the twinkling night sky. You may even hold some small control over fire. Even as your eyes smolder with the same light your mother has, you do not complain of the heat here. Even of the heat that I give you. I know you hold more secrets within you. I intend to possess them all."

"But…" she started and blinked at a sudden swerve he did with a hiss.

"Someone is here. And I don't want you to leave. I hate to do this, but I must."

"Do what?" she frowned. He scooped her up to kiss her intensely and carried her into a different room. In this room was a gilded gold cage with a keyless lock. She gasped with dismay when he quickly tossed her in it and sealed the door. Cushions and small treasures did line the bottom of the bowl-like floor, but he now suspended the cage over a pool of lava with a gold chain. The intense heat was something she wasn't used to. The cage was hanging just enough to keep from getting the bottom seared. She was effectively trapped.

"Only I can remove that lock. If anyone else tries to free you, the cage will fall. Ice will not last long, and the lava is too hot to be cooled quickly. Just stay put," he warned. At her look of complete hurt, he actually winced. But he had to ensure that she couldn't escape him. When he left, she only curled up on herself and cried softly.

* * *

It was easy for Cydaea to get into one of the many volcano tunnels. Mephiles was close behind her. They both had night vision, so it was easy to see down the black depths that stretched before them.

"He's been busy," Mephiles growled.

"Tell me about it," she snorted.

"Tell me this," he asked. "Do you regret asking Iblis to help you?"

"Hmm? Oh. Well, after all he's pulled, yeah. You can say that," she muttered. "Maybe Vol was right in her being better off left as a virgin. I hate it when he's right!"

"Not much else to do now," Mephiles smirked. "Fate could reverse time…"

"No. That would damage something else. And Trishna's developed too far along. It would be a waste," she admitted. "And something tells me that this would have happened the moment she had sex, anyways. With the way she is now…and how she looks…"

"I saw her make stars. I know why Iblis desires her. She's…very unique. In the wrong hands, she could be used in ways that could easily turn any tide of war. Heh. Makes me wonder…" he mused. Then he sputtered from Cydaea's tail smacking him hard on the back of his head.

"Don't talk about that with me present. That's how you get hurt," she growled. Her burning pupils were glowing with solid warning. "Just remember. We may be looking for my daughter, but we are in a dark hallway. And the things I could do to you now would make you cringe."

To further the warning along, a scent lightly filtered through the air. Mephiles's reptilian eyes went round. At the throaty, purring chuckle in his ear, he tensed. Then a delicate, warm hand gently trailed down his furred chest in a way that held far too much expertise. Just when his resolve was ready to snap, the sensations were gone. He was still gasping with shock when she murmured, "If you behave, then so will I. I don't want to spoil you for Fate, but I will if you piss me off. Don't mess with a succubus. Especially me. Do we have an understanding?"

"Sure…" he managed to voice out. She only grinned wickedly. It would take a while for him to calm down. That was the whole point. She could easily do whatever she wanted with him right now, but it was all fun and games. She didn't want him to touch her. She did remember how fun it was playing with Orion that way, but he dared her, in a sense. And that was before he got married. She also had, sort of, brought that on herself. And he was nothing like he was then than he is now. She actually trembled a little at the memory and had vowed to say nothing. That little secret was buried deep in their past and still kept a secret to this day.

But now she had a problem. She was in the mood. Such was the price for teaching someone a lesson. Grumbling to herself, she refocused on finding her daughter. After her daughter was found, she'd reward herself. Humming softly now, they came upon a fork in the tunnel.

"Let's split up from here," she said. "I'll go left."

"Fine," he muttered. Being away from her would help him refocus. It was what she had planned. It was also planned by Iblis to have them split up. The moment they did, Mephiles was confronted first.

"Brother…" Iblis smirked when his glowing form materialized.

"Brother," Mephiles said in kind.

"One chance. Leave now," he said.

"I can't," Mephiles muttered. Iblis only nodded and the cave began to glow with super-heated lava rock. His brother's jaw dropped at this when the lava cage formed.

"I can't really hurt you, since you're blood. But I can make you very uncomfortable," Iblis chuckled. Mephiles now tried to freeze over the prison, but the ice was melting far too fast. And the light from the lava kept shadow teleportation away. "And you were right about me being busy. I also know how make things even worse for you. That little bit with Cydaea amused me. I think it's time you and her got to…oh…know each other better."

"What?!" Mephiles hissed. Iblis snapped his fingers to put Mephiles in a well-lighted chamber to effectively trap him. The room was too warm for ice to keep solid for very long. As his brother now studied the chamber he was in to try and effectively fail to get out, Cydaea was now being approached.

"Where is she?" Cydaea asked when he appeared.

"Safe," Iblis said.

"Take me to her," she said.

"Sure. But first, I need to show you something," he said. At the scent that filtered in the air, he laughed. "And that has no more hold on me. I claimed Trishna as my equal. I marked her again. I still have her mark, too. Your seduction is useless to me."

"So…that's why you wouldn't let me take over the mark…" she blinked.

"You assume correctly. Now, let me show you something," he said. She sighed and grumbled when she let him teleport her into the same room that Mephiles was in. At her look of confusion, Iblis's voice rang out, "Reward yourself first, Cydaea. Then you will see your daughter."

"Oh, you…!" she hissed with shock.

"Reward yourself?! What the Hell?!" Mephiles spat out.

"Iblis! Let us out of here!" she snapped. Silence was all she got. "Great. We have to have sex to leave."

"WHAT?!" Mephiles asked in complete shock and disbelief. "I refuse to touch you!"

"The feeling is mutual," she growled. "So…I guess we just have to wait."

"Damn him!" he scowled and fumed. Cydaea fretted, but she had to admit one thing. Iblis had definitely improved his tactics a bit too much for her taste.

* * *

Iblis was very pleased with himself. Two were now out of the way. There were quite a few left, but they would be dealt with in time. He simply had to wait for the next group to come in. Until then, he wanted some quality time with Trishna. He went back into the room with her suspended cage and pulled it back over. When she looked at him, he realized something. Her succubus side was fully blown out. Her dragon side was too depressed to appear.

"It's about time you let me out," she frowned. Her burning pupils were the only way to tell that this side of her was in control. "I was getting bored!"

"Sorry about that," he smirked. Now he was completely amused and pleased about this.

"I want to have some fun, too, you know," she pouted.

"And what would be considered fun?" he asked and clamped his hot hands directly on her chest from under the hanging silk. She gasped and gave in to the kiss he gave her. He pulled her up into his arms and carried her to where he made himself a new lava rock throne. Settling her in his lap, he grunted when she turned to position herself on him. Her wings were neatly pressed into his chest and his hands moved over her form.

"Playing with someone to make them suffer," she murmured and gasped at a hard thrust he did.

"I don't know," he muttered and moved her hair aside to clamp his newly formed mouth on her neck. "You might have too much fun. Besides…who did you have in mind…?"

"Someone…from the royal family…" she grinned wickedly. He paused at this. Then his green eyes narrowed. But it was with a solid form of amusement.

"A male figure?" he grinned.

"Of course," she thrummed softly.

"One with…a silver crown with a sapphire gem?"

"Correct," she grinned wickedly.

"His mate would slaughter you."

"If he told," she murmured and turned her face to kiss him hard. "Succubi have ways to make things seem like realistic dreams. He'd never tell the difference. And I need practice in that art."

"I'm still not sure," he growled. "You might want children."

"No!" she snorted. "I don't want kids right now!"

"Good to know," he mumbled and brought them both to their peaks of pleasure. She managed to twist herself around carefully to make him tremble with another spasm of pleasure, and she rested her head against his chest with a slightly drowsy look. He completely loved this side of her. After several minutes of rest, she sighed. "Hmm?"

"You would think," she pondered. "That this place would be crawling with underling minions. Or something."

"Never needed them. Besides, none ever listen," he shrugged.

"I can make them listen and obey," she grinned. "Of course, it would compromise our position."

"Hmm. Well, if you did want to test a new skill…" he thought aloud.

"Just keep the others back as I make a call," she grinned and he laughed. "Oh. We should have Mother and your brother bear witness, too. Maybe it will push things along for them?"

"I can open a window," he mused and got up to let her walk with him at his side. "I must say, though, this new side of you. It's very different. I like it."

"Oh, I do, too!" she chuckled. "That dragon part. Ugh! Always saying that there's a consequence for such an action. That Dad wouldn't like it. Blah, blah, blah! It's good for that side to finally shut up! I can do what I want at last! Of course, that's when we disagree. Almost all the time. But, when we agree, it's fine."

"So, why isn't that side awake now?" he asked.

"Too depressed over poor, little Sonic!" she smirked. "And just basic things in general."

"Interesting to know," Iblis admitted. Depression was the key to keeping the succubus out.

"That side just doesn't understand why you do things as you do. I understand, but that side? Hah! Anyways, do you have a tall platform here? The taller the better," she said.

"This way," he said and began to walk up a set of newly formed stairs with her. Even as he watched her from the corner of his eye, he realized how glad he was that he took up the offer to break her virginity. This was the most fun he ever had in centuries.

* * *

"Something's wrong," Vol muttered. "By now, Cydaea would have gotten back to us with a report."

"Same with Mephiles," Fate said. "It's been, what? Four hours?"

"Just about," Orion thought aloud. "I'd check on your mother, but she's fine. I don't want her here."

"Yeah," Lilith nodded. Sonic, Shadow and Tails came over now.

"We need to go after them," Sonic said.

"It's time," Shadow agreed.

"Tails, I need you stay here to monitor the city. We don't know what will happen with us gone," Sonic said.

"Really?" Tails seemed to pout. At Sonic's glare, he caved. "Okay, okay! I'll stay."

"I have Cydaea's last imprint. We'll go there," Vol said and already made a portal. Fate and Lilith were very worried. They had no luck getting in touch with Trishna. Her mind was completely unbalanced. When they walked through the portal and it closed behind them, they stared in shock at the massive volcano. The outside outer layer looked like a solid wall of black rock. Veins of new lava glowed and pulsed like a beating heart as they ran down in rivulets from the mildly overflowing top. But it was the topmost ledge that Vol recognized a glow that he knew well. And he was not happy about it.

"Is that a twinkle?" Shadow asked when he saw a light spark and fade out.

"No!" Vol hissed and leapt into the air. "Find another way in!"

"All right!" Orion shouted after him. He knew that Vol had to confront his daughter directly. He glanced at the others with him, and they quickly searched for a way in.

When Vol flew at the twinkling lights, he saw Iblis standing near his daughter's glowing form. A fierce hatred rose up in him when he landed, but the fiery demon rose up his hands.

"This was her idea. Not mine," he said.

"What?" Vol asked.

"Her mind is severed," Iblis said. "The dragon side is locked away."

"Hmm?" Trishna asked when she stopped glowing and turned. "Dad! Good to see you."

"Trishna?" Vol asked and blinked at the hug she gave him. Then he saw her eyes. "Trishna, this isn't you!"

"But it is, Dad!" she chuckled. "Just a new part of me. That's all."

"Where is your mother?" he asked.

"Oh. Iblis locked her and Mephy up together. They have to have sex to leave their chamber," she beamed. "Isn't it clever?"

"What?!" Vol grimaced with disgust.

"Iblis can show you where they are. I'm not done here yet. I'll join up with you both later," she chuckled. She pressed a loving, daughterly kiss to her father's cheek and moved back up to the platform. He was completely confused. He knew it wasn't really the Trishna he knew, but she fully regarded him and hugged him as she always did. However, instead of following Iblis, he watched Trishna's body start to glow again to twinkle out. Then she outstretched her hands and began to sing.

His jaw dropped at how the twinkling seemed to amplify her call for aid. He had no idea that twinkling could amplify sound or strengthen skills. Her succubus side figured out a lot of things that her dragon side didn't. She even curled her wings around her form to even further amplify the sound, too.

"What is she doing?" Vol asked in a form of awe.

"Calling for support. For me," Iblis smirked. Vol glared at him, but Iblis rose his hands up again. "Like I said, Vol. This was all her idea. Not mine."

"Right…" Vol grimaced and shook his head. Then he sensed something familiar. Her dragon side was reaching out to him. She was terrified. He focused on her slightly to show that he was there. "Hang in there. Daddy's here now. I won't do anything as long as you don't shed any blood."

Her succubus side heard this, too. It would be remembered. As long as she shed no blood, he agreed to stay out of her way. He would only watch. Iblis seemed to nod at this, too. He did respect Vol for giving him Trishna. He would not harm her father, but he would detain him if he had to.

"This way," Iblis said now and led Vol to a small viewing window to see Cydaea and Mephiles.

"Can I talk to them?" Vol asked.

"You can," Iblis nodded. "I will allow it."

"Thanks. Cydaea! Mephiles! It's Vol. I understand that the two of you need to go at it to get out. Do it now. The others are on their way. Your help will be needed," he said.

"What?!" Mephiles said with disbelief.

"Are you serious?! Vol, what's going on with Trishna?" Cydaea asked.

"Her dragon side is…hibernating. It's the easiest way to describe it," Vol said. "I vowed not to get in the way. However, if Trishna sheds blood, I will intervene. So, Mephiles, suck it up! I won't say a word. You have to do this."

"No! I can't do that!" he retorted. Iblis had already closed the window.

"What do ya think, Mephy?" she asked softly.

"I don't want to be touched by you," he growled.

"If Vol said that the others are here, then you know that Fate is out there, too," she said. Now he paused. And he cringed. "I know you like her. I won't say anything. If all we have to do is have a quick fling to get out of here, then what's stopping us?"

Mephiles glanced over at her and weighed his options. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to focus. "I need incentive. And, after it's done…I am having some…serious words…with my brother. And Fate is not to know anything. Agreed?"

"You have my vow," she purred and let her scent fill the air. If he wanted incentive, he got a lot more than he bargained for. She had all of that covered.

* * *

The small group outside the volcano was stunned when they heard Trishna start to sing. It was eerie and haunting. It pulled at them all to come join her side. When they saw what manner of creatures were obeying her call, Sonic could only grimace with revulsion.

"Don't think about it," Orion warned him. "Act like one of them."

"Okay," Lilith nodded. The small group fanned out a bit and managed to walk into one of the many entrances. When the darkness threatened to swallow them, Fate summoned forth a floating fireball to give them the light they needed. Iblis watched them all from afar and smirked. And he knew that Trishna wanted to speak with Orion alone.

He walked over to her singing, glowing form and whispered softly in her ear. The singing took on a slightly different pitch. At a sudden commotion, a fresh team of new minions jogged down the path and purposely split the group up. Orion was sudden carried off down another path. The rest were left together.

"Father?!" Fate called out.

"He's fine. We got separated. We'll find him again," Shadow said. She swallowed and could only nod. As they continued down the path, Orion found himself moved to a well-lighted room. As he looked around for a good five minutes, he didn't hear the small entrance open behind him and seal shut.

"Orion," Trishna whispered. He turned and blinked at her with surprise. Her finery had him catch his breath at the way it only enhanced her beauty. Iblis was busy diverting Vol's attention to other parts of his volcanic domain. Even he could agree in keeping Vol's eyes away from what was going to happen. And Iblis didn't want to see it, either.

Before he thought of how to talk to her, he noticed how much like her mother she was. Then something clicked into place for him. An old side of him that was pushed down for so long threatened to come back up. It was brutal side. A very clever, demanding and roguish side. A darker side of him that he thought was lost. He had locked it away the moment he got married to Solina. Now he remembered something and various events fell into place. It had threatened to come out in his gardens before Cydaea intervened. Now it was free to try something.

 _Could it be true?_ He thought to himself. He knew what this old side of him wanted to do. He knew what his refined and current side had to do. He had to go with his refined side first. He had to remember that this was Vol's daughter, too, and he was his best friend. He took the cautious way out and carefully locked the hidden side of himself back down to regain control.

"Trishna. It's good to see you," he said. "Did you see your father?"

"I have. Iblis is entertaining him," she smiled. Orion nodded at this. Then he saw her eyes. Now a form of fear gripped him. Even when she stepped towards him, it was in a sultry way. He knew his darker side was already telling him what was to come. And what may have to be done.

"Trishna, I want to tell you a story," he said calmly. "Is there a place I can sit?"

"Oh," she blinked. She seemed to shrug and sat on the ground. He chuckled at that and did the same. He took a deep breath and regarded her silently. He had to try and reason with her.

"A very long time ago," he started. "Before I met Solina. Before I even met your father, actually. I was wandering the world and just trying to make a small name for myself. It was a small quest, really. Nothing major. I heard a rumor that someone was causing havoc to the local populace along one of the main traveling roads. So, I went to check it out. Needless to say, it was your mother."

"What?" she asked with a small grin. He chuckled softly.

"Yes. She…took one look at me and smiled. I told her that the populace was not supposed to be her playground. Then she asked…" he grimaced. "If I would replace them. Naturally, I said no. She had other ideas. She bargained with me. I remain at her side for a week, she would move on. If I said no, then she would go into the town directly. So, I'm sure you know what my answer was after that."

"What did she…do to you?" she asked softly.

"The same thing that you want to do to me now," he said softly. "Trishna…I held you as an infant. I claimed you as my daughter to be with my other daughters. I see you as my daughter. I…"

"I saw how you looked at me in the garden, though."

"I know. And I am ashamed of myself for doing so. Solina has my heart. She bore me two beautiful daughters and took you in as her own, too. And I know you are very beautiful. Stunning. Everything. But I see you as my daughter. Please…tell me you see this…"

"I…" she shivered. Something started to shift within her. Her dragon side was fighting to come out. Her succubus side was trying to push it back down. "Daddy Orion…help me…!"

"Trishna!" he grimaced and moved to hug her. He pulled her into his lap and crushed her to him in a very protective, fatherly way. She began to cry, and he rocked her. Her pupils were shimmering from burning coals to black. She was struggling to gain control of herself.

"I know. It's scary, isn't it? A new side of you that's coming out. It makes you do things you don't want to do," he winced. It was as though he knew exactly what she was going through, and it was because the same thing was happening to him as they spoke. She would have questioned it, but her mind was in turmoil.

"Make it…stop…!" she gasped and sobbed. "I don't…want…to do this…anymore!"

"I know you don't," he swallowed and nuzzled her in a fatherly way.

"It makes me…want to hurt…so many…" she whimpered. "I don't want to…hurt them…"

"Easy," he soothed. "We'll stay right here. I'll be right here with you."

"Until Iblis…looks for me…" she cringed. He only nodded slightly. He moved to press a kiss to her forehead. Then her succubus side snapped into focus and moved her mouth to meet his. He was shocked. Speechless. Even when she looked at him with a new, burning glow in her eyes, she said, "Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"T-Trishna…!" he shivered. A thrumming came from her throat now from how she pressed into him. Then it suddenly died when she fought with herself again and pulled herself from his lap.

"No! I can't!" she shrieked and fell to her knees. She was truly suffering now. "I…want my…!"

"Wait!" he said and moved to pull her back to him. He didn't want her to call for Vol. He didn't want his only best friend to see him with her like this. It would simply crush him. But, already, his hidden side knew that this was the moment he was waiting for. What he was truly waiting for. That it was time to act. At her trembling, he knew there was only one way to fully and safely fix this. As much as he didn't want to agree with his hidden side, there was no choice. He knew what he had to do, and he pressed his muzzle to her ear to whisper, "I'll bargain with your succubus side."

"No!" she whimpered, but he continued to hold her to him.

"I'll give you what you want for a full hour," he muttered. "On several conditions. Solina CANNOT know of this. No one else can know. You are to also release her dragon side to come back to us. And you will never let yourself get this out of line ever again! Yes, you need to come out. But, you _must_ reform yourself. If you do not want to agree to any of my conditions, then I'd like you to explain to your father why we are here like this. Alone."

For a solid five minutes, she was deep in thought. She was shivering with resentment and with excitement. Finally, in a soft, broken whisper, she said, "I agree…"

"The hour starts now. And may this never happen again," he growled, tilted her face up to his and kissed her deeply. His hidden side was elated and began to break free again. He lost his resolve to keep it locked away. Even as he moved to claim her furiously on the floor, her dragon side was crying internally. Her succubus side was simply enjoying herself.

* * *

It was thirty-five minutes into the hour when Orion had to rest. He was letting himself enjoy her. It was the only time he would ever do this, and he knew it would be the last time. He didn't want to do this with her again. As much as he was completely taken with what she had to offer, he knew it was wrong. His hidden side was rather pleased, though. It knew it was already time to come out of hiding at last. When she went to move, he growled and pulled her back to his side.

"The hour isn't done. You're still mine until it's over," he muttered. "Trust me. I've been keeping to the time."

"Possessive much?" she teased. He grinned. He actually missed feeling like this. As his old self. As much as he needed his refined self in public, this hidden side of him felt elated that it was free again.

"This is the first and last time I'll get to do this. I'm being lenient," he smirked. "But, you are sure about this? No one can see us?"

"No. Iblis fully agreed that he would not wish to see this. He does still see me as his, but even he knows that a succubus has needs, too. As long as I go back to him, it's fine. Besides, I added my own shielding here. No one can look in. If they try, they get redirected to another area," she chuckled. And it was a solid truth. He just seemed to nod and sigh. "Tell me. Do you regret this?"

"If you keep to your bargain," he said softly. "Then I regret nothing."

She gave a soft nod, and her eyes began to flicker out. At her trembling, he growled and kissed her hard to bring the succubus back out to play. He couldn't let her slip right now. At her whimper, he said, "I know. It hurts. But I made a bargain. A vow. I have to keep it. You have to keep it, too, Trishna. We'll both suffer a little after this. But, I have to keep to my word. The others are counting on us right now. Think of it this way. I'm protecting you, too, like this. Iblis can't touch you. So don't slip just yet."

"But…if it happens…again…" she whispered. He narrowed his eyes and kissed her.

"It won't," he muttered. He nuzzled into her neck and paused at an odd scent. He found her mark. He scented Sonic and Iblis on it. It actually enraged him. He forced himself to try and pull away, but the instinct to overpower them was suffocating. It was intense. And it was all because he was with her as her succubus side was out with his hidden side trying to make an intense comeback. The moment he discovered her mark, he sensed submission from her. It empowered him. It was a feeling that he experienced before from his hidden side. From when he lived in a darker time long ago.

His refined side tried to pull back. To cry out a warning to cease all action. It was ignored in full. There was only one thought raging in his mind. _This is what I was waiting for._ At her heightened gasp when he claimed her again, he gave in to the instinct. His mouth locked onto the mark, and she cried out with complete shock.

"Orion!" she cried out at his muffled shout. He continued to hold her down a bit until he released her and licked the small wound closed. A sick shame engulfed him, but he squashed it. He shook himself free of the guilt he felt. He'll feel it later for sure. That part wasn't supposed to have happened. His hidden side won. It signified that he would want her again. That he would find her again. There was already a shift in his mental consciousness. His refined side was slowly getting shoved into a corner at long last. He forced himself to stop trembling to make it seem like it was all from the pleasure.

"We'll discuss that bit later," he muttered and kissed her in a branding way. The new instinct to dominate her was there, but he knew it would vanish when his time was up. Or so his refined side only hoped. As he finished out the rest of the hour with her, Fate was busy helping the others get past some of the trickier parts of the volcano.

"Fate…" Mephiles said lightly. Iblis honored his word to let him free. "Are you hurt?"

"Huh? No. I'm fine!" she chuckled. "We lost my Father, though. When we were coming in from the main cave where other things were appearing. We were hoping to find him as we looked for Trishna."

"Don't worry about Trishna," Cydaea said when she appeared. "Vol has an eye on her from what I know."

"Okay," Lilith said. "But our Father is missing."

"We'll find him as we move on," Sonic said. "I want to find Vol. If we find him, then we find Trishna."

"We know," Shadow muttered. Sonic was Hell-bent on finding her.

"You know," Cydaea mused.

"Shut up," Mephiles muttered.

"What?" she frowned.

"When you 'wonder' it becomes something not needed," he grunted.

"What are you wondering about?" Shadow asked. It was only to piss off Mephiles and it worked. Fate pursed her lips to keep from laughing. Lilith gave a small giggle, though.

"Just that, oh…" Cydaea sighed. Now Mephiles saw that it was a definite worry. "If Orion was being set up to meet with Trishna for some, ah…fun time. That's all."

"No!" Fate said with disgust and shock. "That would never happen!"

"Father sees Trish as our sister!" Lilith growled. "He would do no such thing!"

"You'd be surprised what one would do around a succubus," Cydaea sighed again. "Especially if a mark was discovered. But, maybe you both are right. I'll just have to hope with you that nothing happens like that."

"What do you know?" Sonic asked now.

"When you've lived for as long as I have," Cydaea smiled softly. "You see things that happen that weren't supposed to happen. Vows get broken. Relationships that were strong suddenly shatter apart. Whether I was involved or not, it does happen. I've seen kingdoms get built and crumble down as fast as a wave crashing on a beach. Such things are…hard to forget. I also know that there are hidden sides to people that are never known until they wish to become known. There are hidden sides to everyone. But, it's best not to dwell on it. I know that when we find Vol that everything will likely be done here. He'll insist on it."

"I'm only going to say this," Sonic said with a low, dangerous growl. "I respect Orion. But if he touched her, I will not tolerate it! She's my fiancée. I don't care what parts she has that make her up. She is mine."

"Sounds like something Iblis would say," Mephiles mused out. Sonic glared at him with hatred and charged forward. He just felt like he was insulted.

"Claiming a mark brings out that side of people. A raw dominance to own the other. See what I mean?" Cydaea said lightly. Fate was stunned. Lilith was taken by complete surprise. Even Shadow was shocked by his friend's new mood. It was completely unlike Sonic.

"If Orion does see her like his daughter," Mephiles said. "He'll be immune to her."

"Then let's hope so," Fate said softly. "Because Trishna is my sister. I won't see her as anything less."

"Yeah," Lilith swallowed. They all nodded at that and moved after Sonic before he did something stupid.

* * *

Back in the chamber, Orion and Trishna were still enjoying each other. He judged there was another ten minutes left, and he focused with his ability to mildly foresee the future.

"Twenty minutes," he muttered. "I'm extending my bargain with you for another ten minutes."

"Why?" she murmured. He had her draped over his muscled, Persian blue-furred chest, and he was completely relishing in her warmth. He licked her cheek affectionately and focused on putting his thoughts into words.

"You brought out a part of me that I thought I lost," he admitted. "When I was younger…much younger, of course…I had a rather ambitious streak."

"More story time?" she smiled. He laughed softly at that.

"You could say that," he nodded and stroked her hair. "When I met Solina, yes, I was quite taken by her beauty. She knew how handsome I was, too. But she was completely turned off by me. I was brash, over confident…everything a real king or prince shouldn't be. Even a noble would have laughed at how I was. As if I cared, anyways. I never took my role seriously enough. When I realized how prim and proper she was, I had my doubts, too. But…in the end…her parents decided that I was the best match for her. So, I decided to make things work. I turned myself around and put my youthful side on a shelf. She was surprised at this and gave me another chance. You know it obviously worked out."

"Obviously," she agreed.

"But…after being here…with you…" he swallowed and sighed. "I realize…I miss that part of myself. To be that brash and bold youth again. It's a nostalgic feeling."

"Have you tried to tell Solina this?"

"I did. And she gave me a look like I went off the deep end," he said with a roll of his eyes. She giggled. "And I realized what you meant about this…possibly happening again. I said it wouldn't…but…"

"Yeah," she said with a soft, sad smile. He sat up with her now and cradled her in his lap. "I do need to tell you something, though. I'm very scared about it."

"What is it?" he asked gently.

"Sonic…I was with him for three whole days. In my room at Dad's home. After the garden incident…" she shivered. He stifled a jealous growl and cleared his throat. "He…claimed my mark, too. Like you did. He wants me to marry him. I didn't actually give him an answer for it."

"You didn't?" he blinked at her.

"No," she said sadly. "Because Iblis claimed me, too. It…felt unfair to me…to solely belong to one…when…"

"I see…" he muttered darkly.

"And now…you see me as yours…" she trembled. He glanced at her. Then his jaw dropped. She was right. "But…it's even worse now…"

"Because of me?" he asked.

"Not…exactly…" she choked up. This was her succubus side. Now he was concerned. "My dragon side…Sonic asked if I would bear him children. As a succubus, I said no. But my dragon side was considering it. If it fully agrees…and with Iblis having me…and now you…"

"Oh…my…" his eyes went wide. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I will not worry about this now. I'll talk to your dragon side when she wakes up. Just remain here with me and keep calm."

"Okay," she said and closed her eyes to rest against him. He pressed his muzzle against her skin and breathed in her scent. It relaxed him and excited him all at the same time. She was simply amazed that he reminded her of both Sonic and Iblis. He had Sonic's passion and heart. He bore Iblis's determination and stern fury. Orion could easily satisfy both her dragon and succubus sides. It was very scary for her to think about.

"I wonder," Orion mused and gently moved a finger along the scaled line of her chest. Each line on opposite sides neatly covered the sensitive tips and ended in a small, pointed stripe near the center. It was very flattering on her, but he noticed one main scale that was much larger than the rest at the very top. It looked like a cover. She popped her eyes open when he gently lifted up the largest scale and felt under it. Her jaw dropped. "So…you do have them…"

"I…!" she gasped and shouted when he moved a thumb over the now hard nub. It was clearly the most sensitive place on her body for never being revealed or touched.

"You never knew. Did you?" he muttered in her ear. "The scales really are like clothing. Aren't they?"

"Ah!" she whimpered when her other set of chest scales were lifted carefully to have what was revealed gently pinched. Now he knew that these were instant turn-on spots for her.

"Did any others know this?" he growled and shoved himself back into her. She could only shake her head as an answer. "Good. This is for me to know only. Understand?"

She could only nod and moan out her pleasure as he worked with her. Then she shouted when he clamped his mouth over her mark again. He was going to fully brand her as his now. He couldn't give her back to two males that had no idea how to be with her properly. He was slowly drowning out their scents with his. And he planned to give her right back to her father instead of handing her over to any others. Vol would be immune to scenting the mark. It was the safest thing to do, and it would cover up what Orion was doing perfectly. Cydaea might catch on, but he knew how to work with her.

When she was a gasping, whimpering mess, he only chuckled and pulled her back over his chest with his own contented smirk. Then he thought and said, "Trish, my dear, do tell me. Did you mark either of them?"

"Iblis…" she panted. "Out of…revenge…"

"I see. What about Sonic?"

"No…"

"Good. So you didn't mark Iblis to really make him your own. Perfect," he grinned. "Solina won't know what to look for, so I'll be safe enough. I want you to mark me."

"What?!" she gasped and looked at him. He pointed to a particular spot near the bottom of his right side.

"Right there. No one would know except for us. And put a lot of care into that bite, would you?" he chuckled.

"No!" she whimpered. He narrowed his eyes and growled in warning. This was his brash side. His arrogant side. Only Trishna would be able to see this side of him when they were like this. He was about to bear his teeth at her, but he stopped and reigned himself back. It was time to pull out the charm. He knew what to say from his refined side.

"Trish," he whispered softly against her ear. "I'm only thinking of your best interest here. I do care about you. Greatly. I was there for you all your life. They weren't. They don't know you like I do. They can't care for you like I do. Yes, our relationship will be secret. Vol wouldn't approve. Solina would despise me if she found out. But those two…do you really think they could really give you what you truly need?"

"Iblis…couldn't love me…" she shivered. "Sonic does…but…"

"Do you love him back?" he asked and nuzzled under her jaw.

"I care…but…" she gasped and let him claim her neck with his mouth.

"We can come…to love each other…" he muttered and ran his hands up her back to massage between her wings.

"Tell me this," she said and rested her hands on his chest. "Why didn't Fate and Lilith have other siblings?"

"Solina…" he muttered at the massage she gave him now. "Was never really one to…express her sexuality…"

"And it left you on a back-burner?" she asked and began to trace over his muscles. He tensed and grimaced, but it was all from pleasure.

"For so long…I had…nothing to…" he panted. "Please, Trishna! Mark me!"

"Where?" she asked. He pointed to the spot again, and he shouted at the feel of her teeth sinking into his furry skin. She held it there until his trembling stopped. She licked the bite mark clean of blood and gasped when he moved his mouth over her mark again.

"I'll still be…with Solina…" he muttered and licked over her mark. "I have to be…the father…to my daughters. I still have…a kingdom to rule…"

"I know," she whimpered and succumbed to the kiss he gave her.

"And when I need you," he whispered and crushed her to him. "I'll make time to see you."

"Just…for needs?" she trembled. At the smoldering look he gave her now, it was filled with unspent passion. He now saw her as something more. Something even more than Solina ever was.

"No. For much more than needs," he said and kissed her in his branding way again. He was going to ensure that no others could touch her. He had ways to make it happen.

* * *

Iblis moved to the chamber to fetch Trishna. He wanted her again, and Vol was hot on his heels. When he got to the chamber, he paused to see Orion cradling Trishna in a very protective, fatherly way. When he checked for scents, he was curious that none were found. Orion had a very secretive, hidden talent. He could erase various scents and area effects within a two hour block of time. It was why he made sure to only have a little over an hour with her. He was able to cover his tracks. He wasn't a bit of a Timekeeper for nothing!

"Vol. Take her home. Now," Orion said sternly. "I talked to her very calmly about everything. She doesn't want to hurt anymore. Sonic and Iblis need to stop seeing her for now."

"What?!" Iblis growled. "She's mine!"

"No. Not by her standards," Orion said with a narrowed gaze. Vol walked over quickly and saw that Trishna's eyes were the familiar silver orbs with black cat's eye pupils. Her succubus side agreed to give the dragon side back. She also decided that having children right now was a bad idea. Orion could only hope that he got through to her in the limited time he had. "Vol. Go now!"

"Done!" the burnished silver male nodded and quickly left through his portal. When Sonic and the others showed up, Fate and Lilith ran to their father to hug him.

"I'm okay. Trish is back with Vol and away from here. We're going home," Orion said and kissed their foreheads.

"Just like that?" Mephiles blinked.

"Yes. Unless you want to pick a fight with me?" Orion said in a rather dangerous way. Cydaea blinked at this. He was showing off a side of himself that she hadn't seen since she first met him.

"What?" Mephiles asked with complete surprise.

"I'm following her," Sonic said.

"No. You're not," Orion said. "She needs rest. You going to her will only hurt her. Besides. She told me that she never gave you a straight answer on marriage. And she's not ready for kids, either."

His jaw dropped. Now Shadow looked at him with complete surprise.

"Orion?" Cydaea asked carefully.

"Trishna was in a lot of pain. Mentally and physically. I won't let her hurt anymore," he growled. Fate knew that her father got like this sometimes, so it was nothing new. Lilith was the same. But Cydaea knew better, and she would find out in time. "Sonic. Iblis. Leave her alone. When she's feeling better, you'll be notified."

"This isn't fair!" Sonic scowled.

"Neither is life. Get over it," Orion seemed to glare. Now Iblis realized that an intense change came over the king. "Come on, girls. Home. Now."

"Yes, Father," Fate smiled. Lilith nodded back and they both made the portal to leave. "Um…"

"Cydaea can help the others get back," Orion said with a small glare at the succubus. "And I'm sure she'll talk to me later about what was discussed."

"You know it," she muttered. He smirked at her. Now her jaw dropped. She recognized this attitude. Trishna woke it up. And this attitude was a very dangerous one. Not only was he brash in his youth, but he was also a bit of a villain. But only to those he truly detested. It was a very hidden and secretive alter-ego of his, and now it was out in full again. It even made Mephiles pale in comparison. But now it made sense. How else would his daughters gain such dark alter-egos?


	5. The Past Revealed

It was later in the day when Cydaea managed to find Orion walking through the gardens. He knew she was coming even before she appeared. All he did was chuckle and say, "You finally honored your vow."

"What vow?" she asked.

"To bring someone worthy to my side," he said and looked at her with a flick of his giant, silver and black-tipped wings. "Solina was a nice substitute. Trishna will work even better. So I'll accept her."

"What are you talking about?!" she asked.

"I tweaked the story a bit. I said that you bargained with me. But…it was I that bargained with you," he said and fully regarded her. "Don't you remember? Or did you forget?"

"I…" she paused and searched through the memories of their first meeting. Then her eyes widened when he was right behind her while she was distracted.

"You were looking for males that could give you that 'thrill of your life'. Something that you never experienced before. I agreed to try once. And I succeeded. You begged for me. So, I bargained with you. One week in exchange for you to introduce me to someone that would be worthy to be at my side. One that would give me powerful children. But, I said I would prefer that one to be birthed from you directly. Instead, you told me that you were never interested in children. So, to make up for it until that time happened, you introduced me to your far-off cousin. I met with her. I decided she would work. And I gave you an intense week of pleasure. Although, I must admit. I wasn't expecting one thing," he growled intimately in her ear. That old passion he gave her simply ignited as that week of solid mating came forth.

"What…surprise…?" she whispered.

"Trishna has these under her scales. And they turn her on as much you," he grinned wickedly and already had a hand in her bra-like top to pinch the already excited tips. Cydaea was shocked when she quickly reached her peak. "Like mother like daughter, I suppose. So, I will claim Trishna as my new mate. I'll still keep Solina, since I worked hard to get to where I am today. I also have an image to keep. But Trishna will bear me the true heir I need. To have an angel/dragon/succubus or even incubus hybrid on the throne would be nice. Don't you?"

"No! You can't!" she panted. He released her to let her slump to the ground in weakness over what just happened to her. She could hardly walk now.

"But I have. I took out the scents of Sonic and Iblis. Her mark is mine. And I had her mark me in return," he smirked and crouched to meet her at eye level. "She will bear me the son I want. Solina doesn't like sex. I was able to get my daughters from her. So, I'll leave it at that. I do care for Solina greatly. I do love her. But she will not give me the true heir that I need. In time, they will all learn of my intentions. And do tell me. Has Trishna ever come into a form of heat yet?"

"Ah…" Cydaea cringed now.

"So…because the succubus side never came out…she never got into heat. That means…" he blinked. Then he grinned with a small laugh. "It will be coming soon. Next few days, most likely. Once every five years after this?"

"No!" she gasped.

"I'll arrange for a trip to be with her for that week. I'll make sure she only bears children from me. And if you betray me even once…I know how to find you."

Cydaea was shocked. Stunned. He simply laughed, rose up and walked off to leave her there in a rare state of complete and utter helplessness. Her daughter was now endangered. All because her mother wanted her to have sex. Vol was right. Completely right. Trishna should have remained a virgin. She had no one to blame but herself.

* * *

Orion knew that he was now on a time limit. Trishna's succubus side came out about almost four months ago. Then it was just recently fully blown out. He had a few days before her first heat took place. He had to arrange a meeting with Vol. The main challenge was simple enough. He couldn't lie to his best friend. The dragon could detect lies. The true challenge was going to be Vol's reaction. He had to be honest, and he knew exactly what he had to say.

"Vol…" he chuckled and waved when he appeared at the cloud lair.

"She's sleeping deeply," Vol said. He was still in his hedgehog form. "She ate rather ravenously, too."

"Good. I…need to talk to you about something. You're not going to like it," Orion sighed. Vol gestured to an empty chair and Orion sat down. "You remember how we first met?"

"Yes. I was flying and you thought I was intruding on your land. We reasoned with each other with riddles. We both called a stalemate after two days of them nonstop," Vol smirked. Orion laughed. "Even I know that moon dragons are clever."

"Solina still doesn't know what I am," Orion snickered.

"Amazing…" Vol laughed. "Anyways…bad news?"

"Yes. And you may hate me for it. Even resent me," he frowned. "But…before I tell you…you told me of an old prophecy. Of your people finally coming back."

"With a Star Queen. Yes. Why?"

"I think…that Trishna is that queen. And I am the one to help her…" Orion sighed. Vol blinked at this. Then his face turned into a mask of disbelief. "In that room…her succubus side reached me, Vol. It…woke me up again…"

"No!" Vol cringed and got up just when his friend did.

"I claimed her mark as mine!" Orion said and sighed sadly. "I couldn't help it. I even…had her mark me, too…"

"You…did things to…" Vol seethed.

"Before you punch me," Orion said. "I need to confess something to you. It was a vow that Cydaea made to me."

"Three minutes," Vol growled. Orion nodded and quickly told him of what happened with the succubus in the past. On hearing of the agreed vow, Vol's jaw dropped.

"Now you know why I had no choice," Orion said. Vol turned away from his friend and stared hard at the floor. Then his form shifted and grew into his true one.

"Become your true form now. We shall speak as such," Vol snorted. Orion nodded and let his form seem to shimmer to reveal himself as a graceful, feathered serpent with scales the colors of the moon. His body was sinuous, lithe and his clawed hands and feet were neatly tucked within his coiled form when he landed. His wings were much larger now, but the same Persian blue colors with black tips graced them. His head was narrowed with large, beautiful eyes that reflected all of the colors of the moonlit sky. A small tassel of feathers lightly graced the tip of his tail, and he tilted his elegantly horned head to show he was ready to listen. He was not as massive as Vol was, but his length was just as impressive with his height.

Both ancient dragons nodded to each other with silent respect and began to talk.

"What do you plan to do with Solina?" Vol asked.

"I still love her," Orion's tone had changed to one just as elegant as Vol's, but it was much lighter on the scale. "I did work hard to win her."

"Then you must promise me," Vol said. "If you decide to make Trishna your mate in full…you cannot sleep with Solina anymore. I would give her one final chance to give you a son. If she declines…"

"Then Solina will just be a trophy," Orion nodded.

"Yes. Your daughters should learn the truth."

"In time. Yes, I do agree. Oh! I can have them read those books…"

"That may work. Lilith was always as clever as you," Vol chuckled. "But…did you really…with Trishna?"

"I did…" Orion sighed. "At first, I did fight it. I tried so hard, Vol! I tried to talk to her. To…make her feel better. I thought I was succeeding. Then she kissed me. I was about to kiss her forehead…and her succubus side…"

"I see," Vol sighed sadly. "I really…detest…Cydaea right now…"

"I know. But, if it helps, I did humiliate her again," Orion chuckled.

"Good. She deserved it! Very well. I'll only allow you to take Trishna as your mate if Solina rejects you again. It will be the only way," Vol sighed. "I cannot stop a prophecy that contains information about my people."

"I know. I wouldn't want you to, either. But…a request? For me?"

"What would that be?"

"Sonic and Iblis…" Orion growled.

"If they appear, I shall call you," Vol nodded. They touched noses to show a gesture of kinship and reverted back down. Orion then embraced his friend.

"I'll talk to my family after supper tonight," Orion nodded.

"Let me know how it goes," Vol said.

"How about this. If I don't appear here, then I'll be with Solina," he said.

"Fair enough," Vol nodded. He watched his friend leave and he went to snuggle down with his daughter. He needed to cuddle her to calm himself.

* * *

Sonic was causing concern for his friends. The last mission they did went totally awkward.

"So, Sonic," Shadow said carefully to where his friend was sitting on the couch.

"What?" Sonic muttered.

"Was there a reason…that you just…walked up to Eggman…and kicked him in the groin…" Shadow said mildly.

"Then walked away?" Tails asked.

"He had it coming. I got tired of hearing him," Sonic shrugged.

"He looked like he was in pain. And he couldn't talk," Tails cringed.

"Any idea about Trish?" Sonic now asked.

"No…" Shadow said. His friend growled, got up and went into his room. Then he was seen leaving his room to go into Trishna's room. He lay back in her treasure bed and breathed in the scent that she left behind. It was the only way he kept calm now.

"I'm worried about him," Tails admitted.

"I know. We all are," Shadow said. At a knock on the main door, he tilted his head and opened it. He found Iblis there, much to his complete shock.

"Is Sonic in?" he asked calmly.

"Why?" Shadow growled.

"I call a truce. I just wish to speak with him. Mephiles is also here," Iblis said and walked in.

"I don't know why you dragged me…" his brother growled.

"Because you do the same to me! Now sit down and shut up!" Iblis snapped. Mephiles scowled at him, but did just that. Sonic was in the room the moment he heard and felt who was there. "Sonic. We need to talk."

"She's mine, you know," he growled.

"We'll see. But, we both have a problem," Iblis said. "We both claimed the mark on her. I made it. You stole it. I took it back. Now…I think someone else stole it."

"What?" Sonic asked.

"The more scents that are on a mark show who exactly has the right to claim the marked one," Iblis explained calmly. The others had no idea about this, and they settled to listen. "I saw you as a legitimate adversary, Sonic. As sickening as it is, you had fair claim after you tried to steal her."

"Okay…" Sonic frowned.

"However, when she was given back to Vol, I detected no scents from either of us at all. Even in the chamber she was in, there were no scents," he said.

"What does that mean? She was with Orion last, right?" Sonic asked.

"I know. And I think…" Iblis said with a small growl. "That Orion stole her from us. Completely stole her and stamped us out of her mark."

"What?!" Shadow gaped. "But…he's married!"

"I've been researching…" Mephiles sighed. "Much to my brother's insistence…"

"Always," Iblis muttered. "But I think he severed her from us."

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"That's always the question, isn't it?" Iblis snorted. "Mephiles? What do you know?"

"Fate's library may hold the answers. I can ask her to see if we can research his past," he said.

"No. She'll get suspicious," Shadow said. "Let's think of what we know so far."

"He's older, if not as old, as Cydaea," Iblis said.

"Cydaea?" Tails asked.

"Would she know anything?" Shadow asked.

"If she does, she'll want a favor in return," Mephiles growled.

"What would she want as a favor?" Sonic asked.

"Usually a form of sex," Iblis smirked.

"Um…who's Cydaea?" Tails asked.

"All call in favor for the sacrificial lamb?" Mephiles seemed to giggle.

"What?!" Tails gaped.

"Yeah. If we can get some insight, she can use Tails," Sonic nodded.

"But…but…" Tails said in shock.

"You'll enjoy yourself," Iblis chuckled. "Anyways, I still have a lot of minions that she called to my side. They want her back, too, so they are willing to help us scout. If they find anything of interest, they'll let us know. Also, your defenses are getting repaired right now. I have…gnomes. And they are highly advanced in creating new things. They may even steal from others here to advance us."

"Have them go into Eggman's lair and Robotnik's lair. That can work," Shadow mused.

"And slow them down," Sonic grinned slightly.

"Anyways, what do you have in mind?" Shadow asked. Iblis now calmly told them all what he wanted to try. Tails was still a touch nervous, though. What would a being called Cydaea want with him?

* * *

Orion was busy walking down a terrace that over-looked one of the gardens. He had just eaten, and a good walk always helped settle his stomach. On noticing one of the guards, he nodded lightly.

"Your Majesty," the guard nodded. He had stark white fur with darker orange lines around his brown eyes and mouth. He was dressed in the usual guard outfit, and he stood at attention with respect.

"At ease," Orion chuckled.

"I wish to have a private word with you," the guard said.

"Oh? On what grounds? Please, walk with me," he nodded.

"Since you got back," the guard said. "I sensed…a change in you. Now, I'm one of the few that came over from…before this kingdom. So the change I sense is very familiar."

"Ah. You are of my original group, aren't you? Well…you could say that a part of me is…reaching out again," he shrugged. "It isn't well known. But, apparently it is known to those that knew me from before."

"Yes. And now I have to ask. Why is it coming back? Is it…safe for me to know?" the guard asked carefully. "I thought we all agreed to leave various things behind us."

"If I tell you a secret…" Orion said with a twitch of his ear. "You will keep it?"

"To my grave," he said loyally.

"Perfect," Orion grinned in a way that the guard clearly remembered. "I may be claiming a new mate soon."

"Really?"

"Yes. A certain…Trishna."

"What of Solina?"

"A spoil of war."

"That makes sense."

"I was advised by her father," Orion sighed. "To give Solina one last chance to help create an heir. If she rejects me…"

"It is an honorable decision of him to request of you. An heir has been desperately needed for a long time," the guard agreed. "For as long as we have been here."

"I know. I gave her so many chances. And this may be the last chance. Once I finalize things with Trishna, Vol made me vow to be with no other. I have, roughly, two days. I need everything ready for Trishna to be with me."

"Two days?"

"To finalize things with Trishna if Solina does not comply. If Solina rejects me tonight, I may need to see to a very old haunt to have it ready. And I'm talking about the 'other' home," Orion smirked.

"Your Majesty," the guard said. "Please send me to check on it."

"You?" Orion frowned.

"Even you know that I was there before you became king here. I would know what to look for. And I know of others that would enjoy seeing you as your old self again. We may even insist on being your personal entourage. We get so bored here!" the guard sighed. Then he muttered, "Too peaceful…"

"How about this," Orion said with a small chuckle at what he caught. "Watch what happens tonight discreetly. If I leave Solina's chambers…"

"I shall rally who I know that can be trusted," he agreed.

"And…if the home is secured…" Orion thought. "I'll need raw meat stationed there. Some treasure from the vault. And furniture may need to be replaced."

"I'll handle it if you leave her chambers," he agreed again.

"And if you end up leaving, I'll promote you to Captain. But…don't betray me."

"Sir," the guard chuckled. "I saw what you did with that succubus slut. Trust me. Betrayal is far down on my list."

Orion barked out laughter, clapped him on the back and bade him to go about his duties. He liked knowing he still had allies. Now he sighed and decided that it was time to talk to Solina. She was likely getting ready for bed now. He wanted to catch her before she turned out the light. And he hated how she insisted on their own bedrooms.

He could only sigh as he remembered how she was before the girls. It was after their birth that she became withdrawn. As far as she was concerned, she did her duty. She wanted nothing more after that. He was so lost in thought that he almost passed by her room. Clearing his throat, he knocked on the semi-ornate door.

"Orion?" she asked when the door opened. The maids were already gone now.

"Solina. I…wanted to talk to you," he said.

"Of course! Come in," she smiled. He smiled warmly and walked in.

"I know…" he started. "That we had this discussion before. Multiple times. But…this will be the very last time. Solina…can I be with you tonight? Can we try to make another? I really want to give Fate and Lilith a sibling. A possible daughter or even son. Is there no way we can do this?"

"Oh. This talk again…" she frowned and sighed. "Orion…we spoke of this before."

"Do I not make you feel safe? Yes, the birth was hard. But…" he started and saw her tremble. She was afraid of going through that pain again. But, there was something else there, too, that he clearly missed. "I see. Very well. I apologize for making you feel this way."

"I'm sorry," she grimaced and shivered. "I just…"

"It's fine. Forget that I mentioned it. I will not bother you with this subject anymore. However, in two days, I will be leaving for a possible new trade route. I may be gone for a week. If it's a little more, it just shows it was successful and I will be going over the roads. I'll have several guards with me, too," he said, as he neatly changed the topic to calm her down. At this, she smiled and nodded. "I bid you a good night."

"Good night," she whispered back and let him leave. She neatly pushed the encounter from her mind. As much as she enjoyed him, she felt that pleasure was a direct sin. That it shouldn't be approached unless it was done. And, with her daughters born, she felt that it was done. She did love him dearly, but there was still a side of him that she was very wary of. And she felt just a hint of it when she declined him again.

When he walked out of her room, he glanced at the guard that was waiting in the hall. At the nod, he was gone. Now Orion sighed and cringed. Solina was no longer his mate in his eyes. He had to visit Vol, and he did just that.

* * *

Vol was still awake and sitting in a chair when Orion appeared. He put down his book and regarded his old friend. At the look of complete hurt and disappointment, the burnished silver hedgehog sighed. He gestured to her room and gave a single knowing look.

"Solina…rejected me…" Orion swallowed.

"Fine. I no longer see Sonic as worthy of her. Go to her. Be gentle," Vol nodded.

"I'll bring the people of the stars back," he said. "You have my vow."

Vol only nodded again and went back to reading his book. When Orion was able to walk into Trishna's room, he paused at her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful and beautiful there that his heart ached. He was gazing at her in a completely different perspective now. She was his mate. And he knew that Iblis and Sonic would never be able to see her like this. Iblis would only see her as a trophy. Sonic saw her as a simple life partner. Orion wanted to throttle them both for touching her.

"Hmm? Orion?" she asked when she blinked awake and stretched. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh…" he blinked himself back to awareness. He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize she woke up. "I wanted to talk to you. Can I?"

"Sure," she smiled. He moved to recline on the coins with her and felt her snuggle into him with a happy thrum.

"Solina…no longer wants me at her side," he said carefully and rested a hand in her hair. "Yes, she wants to stay married, but when it comes to giving Fate and Lilith another brother or sister…"

"She declined you?!" she gasped. "But…I mean...why?!"

"She's…afraid of the pain of birth…" he muttered and moved to pull her closer. "She is afraid of…being with me. Of giving in to me…"

"It makes no sense! I mean…" she started and found herself getting kissed hard. Then the kiss seemed to get gentler. It got calmer. There was a sense of relief in it.

"In two days," he whispered in her ear. "I would like you to come with me on a small journey. Your father knows and agrees that it would be good for you."

"If he…says it's okay…" she whispered and pressed into him.

"He does. I spoke with him earlier as you were sleeping."

"And…Fate and Lilith?"

"They'll be fine with their mother."

"Where would we be going?" she asked and gasped at the nuzzle he gave to her mark. He gave it a hard lick to reinstate it as solely his. It sent shivers of excitement down her spine.

"An old haunt of mine," he muttered and bit down on it. She cried out and moaned right after when he claimed her as his own. He gave out his own muffled cry when one of her claws pressed in on his hidden mark. It was a mutual form of pleasure they shared now. Right after they were both spent, her happy thrumming was the only thing he heard. Then she giggled and he glanced at her.

"You can do this, too. I know what you are. Even if the others don't," she said. This was her dragon side now. Of course, she would know. Orion hadn't thrummed in so long that he had nearly forgotten how to. When his deep thrumming started up, she only sighed and closed her eyes. He pressed a kiss to her mouth and hugged her tight. With her, he could finally be himself. He closed his eyes and let his thrumming dwindle out when sleep claimed him. He hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. Not since he held his daughters for the first time. This was a hidden, secret happiness. And now he knew that he could always feel it with Trishna.


	6. An Old Home Made New

Back at Sonic's home, the reports were given. Sonic was told to go to sleep, since he hadn't been resting well at all. Tails was still nervous over his possible demise. Iblis was rather pissed off.

"So, in two days, he plans to leave?" he asked the reporting goblin.

"Yes. We do not know where, but we are ready to follow the guards," the minion said.

"Good. Continue doing what you can. Do we know where Orion went off to?" Iblis asked another minion.

"Not really. He went into his room. That was the last we saw," a shrug was given.

"Keep an eye on his door. Try to look in from the windows," he ordered. As he kept going over the reports, Mephiles and Shadow were trying to figure out how to get into Fate's library.

"I can teleport in," Mephiles said. "That's not a problem. It's knowing what to look for."

"What do you recall about Orion?" Shadow asked.

"When I sensed him after Trishna was gone," Mephiles said. "I recalled something very familiar. A darkness akin to my own. And an ancient form of spite. When he asked if anyone wanted to pick a fight with him…that was when I sensed it. I'm sure Iblis caught it, too. It was a sensation that…he was not all what he appeared to be."

"Hmm. And this whole talk about this mark and such. I didn't realize it was so complex," Shadow said. "Can you…tell me more?"

"A mark is like, oh, a permanent love bite. Any others can claim it. It never goes away. It can, but only in a dormant state. Once found, it drives the other mad to possess it. It would make sense if Orion found it. If he liked her in any other way than family, then he would have easily reacted to it."

"And…did you mark Fate with this?" Shadow asked warily.

"No. Not yet," Mephiles smirked with amusement. The two would have had a complete fight right there, but, as always, they were quickly interrupted.

"Mephiles!" Iblis shouted for him. The shadow-type hedgehog rolled his reptilian eyes, but he got up to see what his brother wanted. "I think I know why Orion is leaving in two days…"

"Why?" Mephiles asked.

"Trishna's succubus side. It woke up. Now that it's awake, it makes sense. Orion is planning on being with her. Tell me, Mephiles. Why else would a male take a female away and only want to closet themselves away together with no possible means of any form of interruption?" Iblis said with a hint of fury in his tone. As Mephiles thought about this, his entire body paused.

"You mean…?" Mephiles asked slowly.

"Yes. And Orion doesn't plan to share," Iblis fumed silently.

"And this means…?" Shadow asked when he walked over.

"When a demoness, or a powerful other-worldly female, is ready to make a family, they call it going into heat," Mephiles casually explained. "Trishna never did this, obviously. Her body was kept pure. Likely because of Vol. However, it's changed now. She will become extremely attractive and sexy to any male that happens by her way. For a whole week. Maybe more, if the scent she gives off is strong enough. Orion may have figured this out."

"I just don't get it," Shadow said. "Orion has Solina."

"You poor, little fool," Mephiles chuckled and ignored the glare. "Have you noticed that Fate and Lilith have no other siblings? Solina clearly doesn't like being with Orion."

"Wait…" Shadow blinked.

"I don't know why, but it would only be obvious," Mephiles shrugged.

"Call on Cydaea," Iblis muttered.

"Get Tails ready," Mephiles mused.

"No. She'll go to him and wake him up. We need answers first," Iblis snorted. Mephiles snickered and moved to make the portal. When Cydaea walked in, she gave an amused glance at who was there.

"So…you called?" she purred out and flicked her tail.

"Cydaea," Iblis said. "Is Trishna going to experience her first heat?"

"Oh…" she grimaced and sighed. "Yes. She will. And no, you can't do anything."

"Why not?" he countered.

"Because…" she started. "Ah, to Hell with it! Vol told me that Orion is needed to help bring his people back with her. The star folk. I spoke with him not long ago. It's part of an ancient prophecy. Orion is of the moon. Trishna is of the stars. If you want to see the whole prophecy then you need to go to Fate's library. And it won't be easy."

"We know Orion is of the moon," Mephiles muttered. "But why isn't he with Solina?"

"Because she's scared of giving birth again!" Cydaea sighed and shook her head. "She can't deal with the pain. She hates it. She doesn't like being pregnant, either. It's pathetic. Even when she came into her own heat, she made herself impossible to be reached by him. She kept herself away from everyone."

"Did you know Orion before he met her?" Iblis asked.

"Yeah. I did," Cydaea muttered out. "He's…not one you want to cross. And this attitude was set aside for Solina to gain her favors. Now it's back out. And he makes the two of you look like children. Seriously. His tactical knowledge overpowers what he can already do. And because he can see what's coming at him, nothing surprises him. He even knew when I showed up! I don't know how to explain it, really. It's like…he can tell if something is going to happen before it happens. A sense of deja-vu, I guess."

"Great…" Shadow grimaced. "Well, I'll simply ask him if I can take Fate out on a date. And request the library. If he can see things before they happen then honesty would be the best approach, in my opinion. So, I'll simply ask if I can take Fate out on a very innocent date to the library."

"What?!" Mephiles growled. "No! I will!"

"Then why don't you both do it and see who he chooses?" Cydaea suggested. "This way you're both being honest about it and showing good sport. If temporary."

"That may work," Shadow said. "We'll both get what we want. A possible date and knowledge."

"I hate to admit it…but fine…" Mephiles sighed. "This once!"

"I'll stay here to monitor and keep Sonic out of the way," Iblis said.

"Oh…" Cydaea said with a small smirk.

"Tails's room is down the hall to the left. Have fun," Shadow chuckled. She beamed and skipped down the hall to give Tails a personal lesson on a sexual confrontation with a succubus. Mephiles and Shadow had no plans to stick around, though. They had to prepare for a possible date with Fate, and neither of them wanted to be cast aside.

* * *

Orion had just returned from Vol's place, and his love for Trishna had completely overshadowed anything he ever felt for Solina. It hurt a bit, but he knew that there wasn't much else he could do. He moved to gaze out an open window to muse in his own thoughts. Then he turned when a guard approached him.

"We have guests requesting you," the guard said.

"Very well. I'll be there shortly," he nodded. Now he wondered who was requesting his presence this early in the day. As he moved to the main room, he saw Lilith approaching him. "And how are you today?"

"I'm good. Um…Mother told me that you were going to see about some business soon?" she asked softly.

"Yes. A possible new trade for a better future," he chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders with fatherly affection. She beamed at him, and he had her walk with him.

"Mother…also seemed a bit upset about it, too. Did something happen?" she asked.

"You know," he mused. "You have a lot of my intellect. I knew you would! So, I'm going to tell you something to look for in the library. Two books, okay? Paying attention?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Look up…the King of Stars. Also find one called…" he paused and sighed. "The Destruction of the West. It's an old story about the moon. I'm sure you'll like them. However, after you finish reading them, put the last two pages of each book together. Okay? Don't tear them out! Just put them together like two books becoming an interlocked puzzle. It's a special message."

"Oh!" she blinked. He laughed and soon found himself hugging Fate.

"I heard that Mephiles and Shadow are here," Fate giggled.

"What?" Orion asked with a hard glare. "Okay. They asked to see me. So, you two can come with me. However, you will wait on the balcony overlooking the entryway. I won't have either of you come down."

"They called on you?" Lilith blinked.

"Yes. So, I'll see what they want," he muttered. He kissed each of their foreheads and bade them to walk ahead. Then he turned to glare at something unseen in the corner. "I know you're there. I know you're watching me. I've known ever since you and the others appeared. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

The vibe he gave off was something dark, sinister and completely ancient. He would be obeyed in full. He took in a deep, controlled breath and moved to the entrance to find the two hedgehog males there. As he regarded them, it was Shadow that spoke out first. "I would like to take Fate out on a date. Nothing big, really."

"Oh?" Orion mused.

"And I wish to do the same before he can," Mephiles grunted.

"Interesting," Orion admitted. "Well…if one of you can impress me, I may allow it. Nothing funny, of course."

"Of course. Nothing funny with her," Shadow agreed. Then he turned and quickly slapped Mephiles across the face. At this, Orion paused. Then he started laughing.

"Okay. You win. One date is granted," Orion said as he still chuckled. He definitely didn't see that coming!

"What?!" Mephiles scowled. Fate was just in complete shock at what she saw. Lilith was smothering her own giggles. Orion nodded to Shadow and gestured for him to proceed up the stairs. Mephiles just seethed lightly before vanishing away.

"Girls, I have some business to attend to in my study. Shadow, you're being watched," Orion warned lightly. "Behave yourself, please."

"Understood," Shadow nodded and offered his arm to Fate.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a smile.

"I want to read," Shadow chuckled.

"Oh! Father told me about a couple books. We can look for them!" Lilith beamed.

"Sounds good," Shadow nodded. This actually simplified things. If their father told her what to look for, then the books needed would be found. Orion already knew what had to happen. By the time they made their discovery, he would be gone. And he was already putting in a notice with Solina.

"Something's come up with the trade route. I need to head out now," he said. "Don't worry. I'll be back the moment I can. Just take it easy."

"Okay," Solina smiled. He pressed a kiss to her cheek like he always did and made his way out. It was as though nothing was wrong. But, this time, Solina felt a hint that something was wrong. Very wrong.

* * *

Fate and Lilith were scouring the library for the two books. One book, the King of Stars, was found rather quickly. It was the other book that was harder to find. Even the library custodians didn't know where the book was.

"Well, it has to be here!" Lilith frowned. "Father said so."

"I wonder…" Shadow mused and opened the book before him. As he flipped through the pages, a small key fell out of the back of the book spine. "Fate. Would this help?"

"Oh! This is part of the locked shelf!" she blinked at the old key. She flew up to the very top of the library and opened the small compartment. The book they needed was there. It looked like a personal diary. She brought it down, and both books were carefully opened.

"This one," Lilith murmured over the Book of Stars. "It sounds like…like it's talking about Daddy Vol!"

"You're right! And this one…is that Father?" Fate blinked at an illustration of an evil-looking hedgehog wearing darker armor, spiked shoulder pads and carried a mace set with odd crystals. "It is! That's Father!"

"But…Father isn't like that! Does he have a twin?" Lilith asked.

"I don't think he has a twin," Shadow muttered. "And Cydaea mentioned that personalities can be hidden until ready to be revealed. Remember?"

"I…" Fate shivered at this. They read that this wielder of the moon used the destructive force of the oceans to simply swallow whole cities. Then, after the lands were conquered, the ocean would recede. The days would even become complete nights on end with no hint of the sun ever returning to further weaken resolves. Their father was a complete tyrant back in the day.

"Daddy Vol…" Lilith whispered. They read that his people were killed by a wasting sickness. Their best healers couldn't stop it. He was one of the youngest at the time, and his health was vital and pure. He was able to fight off the disease. In the end, he was given immortality to ensure that the race would live on. Like a sparkling, twinkling star, he would simply wait until he was able to descend down and create new stars to populate the ground as he did with the heavens when he flew. It was all very sad. He was alone for a very long time.

"The last pages. Look," Shadow said. There were words with holes cut in various parts, and they were able to interlay them over each other to reveal a solid paragraph amidst other words.

"When the time is right, the moon will shine. The stars will twinkle and dance. The moon shall reach out and kiss the night for the stars to have a chance," Lilith mouthed aloud. "A queen shall come with a twinkling smile. The king will woo and weep. What once was darkness for a time…"

"The Star Queen shall make darkness sleep," Fate continued. "The King of the Moon and the Queen of the Stars will unite with joy and passion. From their union, they will birth…"

"A new race with a higher station," Shadow sighed. "We know this…Moon King…he has to be Orion."

"But…the Star Queen?" Lilith blinked.

"Who else do you think it is? It's Trishna-volcir," Mephiles said softly when he managed to appear before them. "Now that her succubus side is awake, she is receptive to having children."

"Wait! What?!" Fate gaped.

"No! It just…no!" Lilith trembled.

"Where is Trish now?!" Fate suddenly asked. "We need to see her!"

"I want to talk to Father," Lilith said and bolted from the library. When she moved from the library, she paused at the sight of a brown furred guard waiting for her.

"His Majesty wanted me to tell you that he had to depart. He's very sorry and will return the moment he can," the guard said lightly. "I was further ordered to keep you and Fate here at all times with Queen Solina."

"No…" Lilith whispered. Their father knew what he was doing. A tear fell from her cheek now, and Fate was right there to hug her. "Mother…"

"Let's find her," Fate nodded. "Shadow…"

"I know. Date's over," he nodded. "Stay here and stay safe."

"Okay," she nodded and smiled softly at Mephiles. The shadow-type hedgehog was just floored by Orion's tactical expertise. He deliberately made a distraction to slip away. He won this round.

* * *

"Vol," Orion said when he walked into the cloud lair. "Change of plans. I have to take Trishna away now."

"What happened?" Vol asked from where he was sitting.

"Lilith is way too smart," he sighed. Vol rose a brow at him, but he got up from the chair to approach his daughter's room. She was busy trying to reorganize her bed when he walked in.

"Trish, you need to go with Orion now," he said. "I'll be around if you need me."

"So soon?" she frowned.

"Something came up," Orion seemed to shrug. "So, we need to leave before others try to look for you."

"I see…" she blinked and picked up a small necklace. She paused at the scent that came from it. Sonic had given it to her. And she still had the jewelry set that Iblis gave her, too. Orion flattened his ears back on scenting them now.

"You don't need to take anything else with you," Vol said calmly.

"What will I sleep on?" she frowned.

"I have that covered. Trust me," Orion chuckled. She nodded at this and set the items aside. That made him feel better. He didn't want any other scents around her. He just wanted his scent to be the primary one.

"How do we travel?" she asked.

"I have that covered, too," he smiled and kissed her gently. "If I need you, Vol, I'll call you."

"Do that," Vol nodded. He hugged his daughter again and muttered, "If he hurts you, I want you to call for me. Immediately. Understood?"

"Yes," she nodded and got squeezed again. Orion was able to claim her back and a portal was opened. He walked right through it, and Vol memorized where it went. He would be listening for his daughter's call. Later in the night, he'd pay a visit to the Timekeeper's castle to reassure the others that everything was fine.

"What do you think?" Orion smiled and revealed the dry grassland before them.

"Um…what am I supposed to see?" she frowned.

"Ah. That's right. Moon shielding. A form of illusion. Here," he chuckled and waved his hand. Of course, this was going to fully reveal the place, but that was fine. The castle that stood before her now had her taken by complete surprise. The stones were made of carved turquoise, sapphire, topaz and other shades of blue rocks from semi-precious to precious with gold and silver interlays. It was a complete tribute to the moon in colors and majesty. As the moon rose up over the plains, the light would shine down fully on every inch of the castle. From the towering spires along the protective walls to the secluded keep in the center, the place was well fortified. And very well protected.

"Your Majesty! We were not expecting you back so soon!" the main guard said when he walked over.

"There was a change of plans. How is the place?" Orion asked.

"Still in one piece. The spell you set on it had completely frozen it in time. Of course, such a spell may not be able to be cast again. But it worked," the guard nodded.

"Good. You are now a Captain. Secure the perimeter. I need to introduce her to my chambers. And do not disturb us. Leave everything in small parcels with the dumb waiter lift from the kitchen," Orion ordered. "This is from now until we leave. If Vol appears, let him visit freely. All others are subject for questioning."

"Understood," the new Captain nodded. Then he nodded to Trishna with respect before moving off. She actually recognized him, but now she looked at Orion in thought.

"Your chambers?" she asked.

"Our chambers," Orion lightly corrected to see her blush. When they walked into the main throne room, she paused at the sheer majesty of the throne before her. It was all carved out of blue marble. From the elegant hand rests and clawed feet to the tiled stairs leading to it, it was a complete show of power and wealth.

"And…you kept asking Dad for money?" she giggled.

"I had another kingdom to look after. Remember?" he grinned back. There was something that she saw that was resting on the throne seat. She walked up to it and picked up the elaborate helmet. It almost looked like a crown, too, and it was made of white gold set with various semi-precious stones. It actually had a sinister look to it. "Ah. That's…my old crown."

"This was…yours?" she blinked. "But…it looks…"

"Dark. Yes. I know," he said. "I had a very…violent path before I married Solina."

"And it will return?" she frowned. At this, he moved to her side to tilt her face up to his to kiss softly. He was proving to her that she was safe with him.

"It will only return if I need to protect you," he vowed and kissed her again. At the soft moan she gave now, he was able set the helmet aside and move to sit in the old throne. He pulled her right into his lap to kiss her even further and lightly grope her. When the need got even more intense, he simply pulled her further into his lap to have her. What better way to start a new family line than on a throne meant for his heir to rule it? It made perfect sense to him.

* * *

"Where did my husband go?!" Solina demanded at the guard standing before her.

"Your Majesty, if I knew, I would tell you," he sighed. He was one of the newer guards. Of course, he wouldn't know anything. "All of the older guards are gone."

"So…he took the guards that came with him from…" she blinked. Now she paled. "No. He promised that he would leave that past of his behind! He vowed to me!"

"Mother?" Lilith blinked. Her and Fate were sitting side by side in the main seating room.

"Let me in," Vol said when he appeared. At the sight of him, Solina gave him a look of complete worry. "Solina, I need to know. Why did you refuse to give Orion the chance at another heir?"

"He…told you…?!" she gasped. Now her daughters were in shock.

"Yes. He did. And because of this…he's determined to fulfill a prophecy with my daughter for my people," Vol said a touch bitterly. "And because it's a prophecy, I can't stop it."

"What prophecy?" Solina asked.

"To make my daughter his queen," Vol trembled. It clearly pained him. At Solina's look of shock he said, "I told him to go to you one more time. To try and get you to be with him. But you rejected him. I had no choice. Trishna is with him now. Damn it, Cydaea!"

"Cydaea?!" Solina asked now.

"Yes. It was her idea to let Trishna experience sex!" Vol snarled. "If that never happened…"

"Can we reverse time?" Fate asked.

"That is too dangerous," Vol said. "You'll disrupt other things. It's too far gone to attempt that."

"So…it started with Iblis, too," Lilith trembled.

"Yes. He agreed to see what he could do," Vol muttered. "I denied him flat out. He stole Trishna from me. He used her like a toy. He almost mentally broke her. Sonic did help her, but then he gained this…possessive streak. I don't like it. And now both Iblis and Sonic are trying to get her back."

"Well…if you can't do anything, maybe they can?" Fate asked. Vol blinked and shivered.

"Daddy Vol," Lilith said and got up to hug him. "We read the book. We know you've been alone for a long time."

"I know," he shivered. "Trishna…is my only link now. I have no others. I have the two of you, of course…but…"

"She's your blood link," Solina cringed and hugged him now. "So...in a way, you want to stop this…"

"But you don't want to spoil your chance at new blood, right?" Lilith asked. Vol trembled again and a tear rolled down his face. Fate now moved to hug him, too, and he cleared his throat.

"I'll always love my daughter. No matter what happens. Orion is always my best friend. He came to me to tell me everything. It was the only way. I would have sensed his lies. I never wanted anyone to hurt. I never expected this to happen. And I know that if Trishna calls for me, I will be there to protect her. All that we can do now is wait," he said. "And…Solina…Orion had to vow to me that he would not touch you any further. You declined him when he tried to reach out for you. You turned him away when he tried to give you one final chance."

"So…he does not see me as his…" she trembled.

"He loves you dearly. He still wants you to rule here. But, he cannot see you being a mother to anymore of his children. You spurned him for a very long time," Vol sighed. Her daughters were at a loss on what to think. They never knew this. Solina started to break down into tears, and he hugged her tight to comfort her.

"He's not really at a trading route. Is he?" Lilith frowned.

"No. He's at his old home," Vol sighed. "As to where…I cannot say."

"I know," Solina sniffed.

"So, you know where he is?" Fate asked.

"Not exactly. But I have a portal pinpoint. And don't ask me to show it to you. I can't do that," Vol said. He took a deep breath for control and said, "I need to go back."

"Please…can you stay?" Solina asked gently. "For me?"

"Very well. For you," he nodded. He moved to sit down on a couch and found himself smothered by all three. Solina saw him as her brother. He always saw her as his sister. His family needed his support, and he needed theirs, too. All they could do now was wait and hope that everything went well.


	7. Starting A New Lineage

Orion was giving Trishna a grand tour of the castle now. She was in complete awe. For the first day, he let her sample the various foods that remained fresh in the kitchens. He let her explore the grounds at her leisure. He enjoyed watching her be so happy.

On the second day, she was starting to feel a touch homesick. This was normal. So, he showed her the small vault the castle held. She quickly took it over to organize it.

"You don't have to do that," he laughed at her.

"I want to!" she said and started to put things away. Much to her pleasant surprise, Vol had sent over a bit more for her to sleep on. He had to ensure her comfort and safety. A whole haunch of meat was sent over next in small packages to ensure she had enough to eat, too. Orion could only chuckle at that. It was always Vol's first priority to ensure that his daughter's needs were met.

But, it was the third day there that Orion began to find himself glaring at various guards that watched her. And they were watching her a bit too long for his liking. That was when he realized something. And he had to act now.

"Trishna, we need to go to bed," he muttered in her ear.

"For what purpose?" she smiled softly. That was when he growled. The very faint scent of lust started to come from her now. And it was putting him completely on edge with want. The sound actually excited her. "Odd. I feel a bit warm…"

"Then let's go to bed," he growled now and scooped her up in his arms to carry her off.

"I'm not tired," she murmured in a low, thrumming tone. Now she blinked at herself. Her thrumming simply started up?! That was odd to her. When he began to give an instinctive thrum back, she only trembled with a need that she didn't know existed. The moment the door to the bedroom opened, he kicked it shut behind them. Her breathing began to get heady and wanting. The scent only got stronger. He just barely made it to the pile of treasure that made up their new bed. "Orion…"

"Mine!" he snarled and bit down on her mark before claiming her swiftly. Then he flipped up the scales on her chest to torment what lay beneath them. She was a complete squirming, thrumming mess of sensations. This was what he liked to see. He was so protective of her that, at any odd sound, he perked his ears up and growled before pulling her close to him to have her again. It was an hour after the first wave of scent assaults when he finally managed to come around. He groaned a bit weakly, but she was lightly sleeping against him in a rather peaceful way. And she was still thrumming.

He had to force himself to try and recover, but it was near impossible. He never went through this with Solina. She always hid herself from him when it happened. He almost lost himself in thought, but Trishna's hand reached up to caress his cheek. At the gentle look she gave him, his heart melted. Solina never really looked at him like this.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I have never…never…" he whispered and got pulled down to kiss her gently. "You're my mate now. No one else can have you. Not Sonic. Not Iblis. No one!"

"I know," she said and nuzzled into him. "I'm a bit relieved, actually. After what…Iblis did to me…it scared me so badly, and I…"

"What did he do that scared you?" he asked.

"Iblis…actually put me in a cage over a pool of lava…" she whimpered. This was her dragon side talking now. Orion was completely furious on hearing this. Even he knew how dangerous it was for a silver dragon to be suspended over intense heat.

"What?!" he was shocked at this news. "He dared to do that?!"

"It was to ensure…that I wouldn't leave…" she winced.

"He could have put you in a treasure vault! Or even…" he blinked and snarled out his fury. "You have my vow. I will never. EVER. Cage you. Because I know that if I really wanted you to stay, all I would have done was put you in front of a waterfall."

"That's not funny!" she growled at his wicked grin. "Mephiles did that to me once. He left me there for three hours! It wasn't nice of him at all."

"Three hours?" he asked with dismay.

"Yeah. Then Dad found out and let Fate have at him," she smirked. Orion chuckled and nuzzled her. "I honestly thought that…well…I would have ended up with Sonic…"

"Don't say that," he growled possessively and kissed her deeply. "I am the only one you need."

"Are you?" she asked and gasped at the hard licks he gave her neck.

"Am I proving that? You're my mate. I want no other," he muttered and nipped under her ear. "Trishna-volcir. Will you be my Queen? Will you reign here with me at my side?"

"I…" she whimpered. Orion knew exactly what was making her falter.

"They can't help you like I can. They don't understand your needs like I do. I am a dragon. Just like you. Let me take care of you," he whispered and pressed into her. "Only I can love you properly."

"Love me?" she whispered.

"Yes. And I do love you. Very much," he muttered and gave her a gentle, loving kiss. "Be my Queen?"

"Yes…" she whispered. Now he kissed her in a branding, needy way.

"I love you," he muttered and gasped as another wave of scent rocked his senses. "I know… you can't say it back…but…in time…"

"No need to wait," she whispered. "I love you, too."

He groaned and crashed himself back down on her in a needy mating frenzy.

* * *

Sonic felt a sense of despair hitting him now. He had to see Trishna. It was killing him.

"We don't know where they are yet, do we?" Shadow frowned.

"No. But Cydaea might. Even Vol. We'll need to see what we can do to get them to talk," Iblis muttered.

"Think we can give her Tails for a week?" Mephiles smirked.

"Tempting…" Shadow chuckled.

"Do whatever it takes to find out where she is," Sonic growled. He had been getting less and less sleep. Without her, he felt a severe sense of complete loss. He needed her back at his side.

"Do we contact Cydaea now?" Shadow asked.

"Cydaea?!" Tails grimaced when he just walked into the room.

"Yes. We need information from her. You may be working with her again," Mephiles giggled as he made the summoning circle. Shadow only snickered softly at the double-tailed fox's reaction.

"Ah…please no?" Tails winced.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Iblis smirked.

"Well…" Tails cringed.

"Could be for a week this time," Shadow grinned. Tails's jaw simply dropped. "But, we don't know that."

"I'm baaaack!" Cydaea giggled as she skipped in. "Oh! There's my cute little fox! Come here…"

"Ah…" Tails winced and found himself getting pulled into her plushy embrace.

"So, what do you boys need? I'll consider payment fulfilled," she smiled and lightly pet the top of Tails's head.

"We want to know where Orion took Trishna," Sonic said flat out. At this, Cydaea paused to look at him with complete uncertainty of this request.

"I don't know…if I can do that…" she swallowed. Now Mephiles noticed something in the succubus. It was fear.

"Why not?" Iblis asked.

"Because right now…" she sighed. "My daughter is in her heat. And Orion…he'll kill anyone that intervenes."

"Even you?" Shadow asked. At her small nod, Mephiles found himself deep in thought. Iblis and Sonic gave small glares at each other at this news, but they remained neutral.

"But, you wouldn't be going there," Iblis said. "I would be going."

"And me," Sonic grumbled.

"He would know that I did it, though," she said. "You'd have to convince Vol to do it. Vol won't be harmed."

"Would Fate and Lilith know?" Shadow asked.

"As if Orion would endanger them like that!" Cydaea scowled. Tails was in a lulled haze at the attention from being cradled by her. "And I can't talk to Vol. He's…upset enough at me."

"It's fine. We'll contact Vol," Shadow nodded.

"Well, foxy, since I didn't help you all," she sighed and started to put him down.

"No!" Tails growled and clung to her. "Keep me for a future favor!"

She blinked at this and barked out laughter as she took him back to his room.

"Addicted to a succubus…" Iblis snorted.

"And a bad one, too," Mephiles sighed. "That poor, demented fool…"

"It got us a free favor. Let's contact Vol," Sonic said.

"Wait. I want to see if we can look at those books again. They might hold a clue," Shadow said.

"I have them," Mephiles smirked and produced them. Now the books were studied intently. A clue was definitely found, but it was vague.

"The landscape describes a flat grassland where the moon can shine freely," Shadow read aloud. "And the castle reflects the same colors."

"That can be a lot of places," Iblis sighed. "But, if the castle is revealed now…"

"We might be able to find it!" Sonic blinked and now moved quickly to see what satellite feeds were available. "When is the next full moon?"

"One more night," Mephiles said. "But it may not be in this world. Or on any plane that we know of."

"I can check Fate's plane," Iblis said. "I'll have an answer by the next full moon. Maybe sooner."

"Do it," Shadow muttered and moved to check on Sonic. On finding him reading over the screens, he saw the dark circles under his eyes. "You should really get some sleep."

"I can't! Orion…he stole her from me!" his friend raged. Shadow placed a heavy hand on his friend's shoulder.

"And we will find her. We'll get answers, too. You need to sleep. You are not yourself right now," Shadow muttered. Sonic just sighed and shook his head.

"I had her…in my arms…and…" he shivered.

"Do I have to punch you upside the head?!" Shadow growled. "Go to bed! Now!"

"Okay…" Sonic grimaced. Shadow watched his friend get up and trudge over to Trishna's room. Now he saw the problem. He sped over quickly and closed her door before he get into it. "What are you doing?!"

"Your bed. Not hers. That's the problem," Shadow said. "You need to sleep in your own bed."

"But I can't! Not unless I'm around her somehow!" Sonic cringed.

"You have to try," Shadow said. "For her."

Sonic wiped a tear away and nodded. Then more tears followed and Shadow sighed hard. He pulled his friend away from the others and took him into his room. "I love her, Shadow. I love her so much…"

"I know you do," Shadow nodded. He let his friend vent, blubber and sob out his emotions before watching him finally pass out hard. Shadow sighed again and silently left the room to let him sleep.

* * *

Nothing happened until the moon was full a couple nights later. Trishna was heavily into her heat by the time Orion got any form of word that he was being searched for. He was reclining back in the bed of treasures comfortably when his visions popped aware. He didn't like what he saw. He couldn't leave her alone, either. She was sleeping deeply next to him, but he knew what he could do. Grabbing a pen and parchment, he wrote out his concerns. Then he folded the note up and sent it down the dumb waiter with a bell signal. The Captain of the guard was waiting in the kitchens just for moments like this, and he got it to read.

"Hmm. Visitors? Not good," he muttered to himself. He called his men around to relay the order. "We are expecting intruders. Likely in the next ten minutes. Get ready for them."

"Do we know which side?" a guard asked. The dumb waiter went back up and came back down with another note.

"South side and east sides. However, the tactics can change. There's twenty of us here. Manage all defenses," the Captain nodded. They dispersed quickly to see to it. The Captain was very disturbed now. Orion's new queen was being heavily sought after. He knew she was in her heat, and even he knew how Orion was. Unlike the others, he saw Orion's true form long ago in his first years of service. He didn't want a dragon tearing into him!

"As long as you keep my secret, you will live," Orion had told him shortly after. He kept his secret all these years. Orion always kept his word. In the bedroom chamber, Orion was already gently nuzzling Trishna awake.

"Hmm?" she asked and stretched against him. He growled and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"We are getting unwanted visitors soon," he muttered. "I need to call your father."

"Okay," she nodded. He wrapped her up in a silvery blue silk sheet that shimmered when she moved, kissed her again and pulled out the silver scale to rub.

"I'm here!" Vol growled when he charged in from the portal link to the scale.

"Sonic and Iblis…" Orion growled back. "Trishna…I can't leave her."

"I get it. The most I'll do is warn. If they ignore the warning, I'll watch her," Vol nodded. "Stay here and protect her."

"Thanks," Orion sighed and gave Trishna a calming lick to her cheek. Vol carefully opened and closed the door before heading outside. The guards recognized him and watched him change into his true form. Then he leapt into the air to make himself known. He landed on the top-most tower and snorted as he looked around. It was made for dragons to perch on it. Then he spotted Iblis's glowing form. Sonic, Shadow and Mephiles were also there. He gave a warning roar to make them halt.

They watched him fly gracefully from the tower to land before them all. "What brings you all here? And if it's for Trishna, I will ask you all to leave. Kindly."

"But…" Sonic said and grimaced at the glare. Iblis growled at this news.

"Trishna now belongs to Orion. In full. He asked me to come here to change your minds. I won't stop you from attacking the castle. But, as you can see with me here, he knows you all are here. The castle defenses are up. You don't want to tangle with Orion. Not right now," Vol warned.

"Out of the way!" Iblis hissed. Vol growled, but shook his head.

"Don't tangle with a moon dragon," he finally said. Now they looked at him with surprise. "It's a full moon right now. He is at his peak of power. Yes. Orion is a dragon. Just like me."

"What?!" Mephiles asked with shock.

"I normally wouldn't spill such a secret," Vol said. "But this is my daughter's sanctity at stake. Please understand."

"We know that your bloodline is…almost gone…" Shadow said.

"Do not remind me," Vol warned. "Trust me. It's hard enough watching her go through so much pain. And Iblis…you caged her. That was unacceptable."

"What's this?" Sonic asked. Iblis said nothing.

"You caged her over lava. You could have killed her!" Vol snarled. Yet, miraculously, he held back. "If you decide to keep going on your reckless crusade, just remember. You have been warned."

"Of course," Shadow nodded respectfully. Vol was only looking out for his daughter's safety. They all understood it. When he flew back to the castle, he was already reverting back down to his burnished silver hedgehog form.

"I saw it," Orion muttered as he rose up when Vol entered. He was already dressed and ready to leave. It was his turn to confront the group.

"I'm immune. Do what you must," Vol sighed. They clasped hands and Orion left as Vol moved to let his daughter snuggle into him with worry.

"Daddy…" she frowned.

"I'm sure that no one will get hurt," he soothed. "Orion's likely going to scare them a bit."

"He vowed he wouldn't turn dark…but only if I was safe…" she shivered.

"Well, he won't harm you. That's all that matters to me," he said and wrapped his wings around her. "As much as I respect them out there…"

"I know," she nodded. As he kept her calm, Orion strode out his throne room. Then, for the first time since his marriage to Solina, he took off his crown of silver with the embedded sapphire stone. He slipped on his old helmet of tyranny and vengeance. The Dark King was back. And he was royally pissed off.

* * *

The small group saw him stride up to the tallest balcony and glare down at them all. He smirked and jumped into the air. While he flew, he transformed in the very light of the moon. His slender, long, lithe body stretched and grew in size. He almost seemed to encompass the large moon that glowed over the castle below him. He chuckled darkly at the awe that he gave them. Even the guards didn't know what to think. They may not even have to attack now, but they still waited if they were needed.

Then, to everyone's surprise, he landed silently. His name meant he was a hunter. And he proved it with the stealth and grace that came with his form with centuries of practice. "Foolish Sonic. Childish Iblis. Mephiles, too. So young to me! So inexperienced! And Shadow is here…such a delight…"

"Where is Trishna?!" Sonic shouted.

"Away from those that don't know how to care for her. You know nothing on caring for royalty. Much less draconic royalty," he seemed to chuckle and flick out a forked tongue. Then he took in a deep breath and let out a blast of solid misted fog. "Good luck getting to my castle now. If you make it…maybe I'll be more…accommodating…"

"Damn you, Orion!" Iblis snarled. They couldn't see Orion now. The mist completely obscured him, and it was like walking through a wall of dense fog. Iblis charged into the wall of fog to run straight to the castle. Then he yelped when a feathered, whip-like tail slashed out and knocked him off his feet. When Mephiles tried to get close, the same attack came back at him to knock him aside like a toy. Sonic bolted into the wall of fog next to find himself slammed back out neatly with a painful grunt. Orion simply knew where they were going to strike next. Shadow tried to dart through the mist, but found the massive head of the moon dragon glaring at him.

"I actually thought you would be good for Fate, you know," Orion chuckled. Shadow's jaw dropped. "Do yourself a favor. You want to me to keep that thought? Leave this fight."

"You would…want me to be with…" Shadow seemed to stutter with disbelief.

"Of course," Orion thrummed and seemed to coil about him lightly. "You and Fate. Why not? Mephiles…never really liked him. But you…"

"And if I just leave…" Shadow thought.

"Yes. I'll put in a good word for you," he chuckled. Shadow was tempted. Incredibly tempted. But Sonic was fighting with them. He cringed.

"I can't leave. Not with Sonic here. I can't abandon him like that," Shadow swallowed.

"So…you would give up a chance with Fate?" Orion mused.

"Sonic never backed out on me. I cannot back out on him," he growled.

"Interesting…" Orion mused. "But…you would fight him to get your way?"

"That's not the point!" Shadow scowled.

"You're not like them. Don't you see? You're far more…distanced…from the others. I can tell this. I am an excellent judge of character. You are unique."

"I cannot back out, though," he muttered.

"Then…a compromise," Orion said silkily. "Make them leave. I'll still keep my word for Fate."

"Why do you want us to leave?" Shadow asked.

"Ah. You don't know…" Orion sighed. He did promise Trishna that he would only go fully dark if she was under harm. So far, she wasn't truly under any harm. He had an idea. "Hmm…okay."

"What?" Shadow blinked. He suddenly found himself scooped up and lifted into the air to be brought to a window.

"This window goes to the bedroom chamber. Peer in. Take in a deep sniff," he said. Shadow blinked at this and peered in. Trishna was being comforted by her father. "He is immune to her on being her direct blood link."

"Immune?" Shadow frowned. Then he paused. The scent of her heat seemed to attack his senses. Orion was just barely able to hold himself back when he managed to retreat with Shadow to set him down. Shadow was just barely able to keep focus to stand on his own.

"Think on this," Orion said carefully. "If they get in there…and if they smell her…"

"They would attack each other…" Shadow gasped as the scent left his senses.

"Exactly. She can't help this. It's why I keep my guards away at a safe distance, too. Why do you think I pulled her away from all of you?"

"But…Sonic…he suffers so much without her…" Shadow was still trying to recover.

"And how do you think he will be if he went through what you just did?" Orion countered.

"Even worse off…" Shadow admitted. "I don't know what to say to them…"

"Have them fall back. Rethink a strategy. Look up my race, even. I'm not sure it would give you all a chance…"

"But it would stall. It would have us leave," he caught on.

"Yes. I'll let you go back to the Timekeeper's castle to look through the library. Research what you can. Take your time. After four days, it may be safe to try and come back. But this is her first heat. Even I don't know how long it will be. And I doubt that Fate would like it if you went after Trishna if you like her so much. We see how Lilith is with Iblis. And, personally, Iblis is someone that I wouldn't hesitate to finish off. However, I do owe him for awakening Trishna's succubus side. I'm surprised that Cydaea didn't try to put that on me."

"I doubt you would have," Shadow smirked.

"Actually…it would have been tempting," Orion admitted. "Solina…rejected me for so long…"

"You would have taken up the offer?!" Shadow grimaced.

"I believe so," Orion nodded. "But now you have a choice. Let them find Trishna in her heat and fight each other…"

"Or have a new plan of strategy to delay them. I'll…try and convince them to leave…" Shadow sighed. "I don't want to have Trishna be in the middle of another war that she didn't want. It's not fair to her if it happens. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you. I'll put in a good word for you," Orion nodded again. "Head straight and you'll find the others. Go."

Shadow nodded and bolted out. He now knew of the danger they were all going to put themselves in now.

"We can do this!" Sonic growled.

"He tossed me out like a toy!" Mephiles scowled.

"He's cheating! He shouldn't use that fog!" Iblis seethed. Just as Shadow was about to reach them, Orion was right next to him and easily keeping pace.

"I have to hurt you a little. If you just run out there…" Orion muttered.

"Not too much…" Shadow sighed as he ran. He shouted when he found himself tossed up into the air and beaten down into the ground. It wasn't done at full force, thankfully, but it was to help with the ruse. And it was going to work a little too well.

"Thanks for being such a good sport," Orion chuckled.

"Don't…mention it…" Shadow panted. Then he found himself whacked out of the fog with a perfectly timed tail slap. At how Shadow looked now, the three of them gaped. "We…must retreat…regroup…study him…his race…"

"You don't look so good…" Mephiles cringed.

"I think he's right," Sonic muttered and helped his friend lean on him. "We know nothing about his race."

"Library…maybe…" Shadow coughed. He actually winced when he moved.

"We're so close!" Iblis scowled.

"Look at him!" Sonic snarled. "This could easily be one of us! It was almost one of us!"

"I agree with them. We need to rethink our strategy. Trishna isn't going anywhere. We know where she is now," Mephiles said. Iblis shivered with hatred at this, but he nodded. As they left, Shadow could only think of one thing. He saved their lives and got another bonus on the scale with Fate. Getting beaten up by a dragon was worth it.

* * *

The moment they left, Orion reverted back down and lifted the fog. He signaled the 'all clear' sign and moved into the castle swiftly. He made his way to the bedroom and took in a deep breath for control. Her scent both welcomed him and assaulted him.

"Call me if anything else happens," Vol said and set his daughter aside gently. Orion managed to nod, and the silver father left to leave them in peace.

"Was anyone killed?" Trishna asked softly.

"No…" Orion said as he removed any and all articles of clothing before tackling her. Only after he managed to satisfy himself of her was he able to answer more. "I convinced Shadow to have them all leave. There is an open window here. I brought him over to it to show how bad things could have been if they were around you."

"You brought him over?" she blinked.

"I became my true form. I showed them that I wasn't one to be messed with."

"But now they know of you!" she gasped, and he pressed a finger to her lips.

"Hush, my love," he smiled warmly and nuzzled her. "They can try and fail to find out about me. I am as rare as Vol is. There is little to no knowledge of me."

"Even I don't know that much about you," she said softly.

"Then we'd better fix that. Shouldn't we?" he chuckled softly. She blushed at him, and he moved to let her relax on his Persian blue-furred chest. He did feed her first though, and she giggled.

"I never found you one to eat raw meat," she laughed.

"What? You don't remember how I used to sneak pieces of your meals?" he grinned. "We made a game out of it."

"Oh! We did!" she laughed again.

"I always made sure to give you pieces ending in odd numbers to ensure you had the first and last piece," he chuckled at the memory. "Then you swapped it around one day to make me get the last piece."

"And the others never knew," she giggled. He laughed with her and they continued to enjoy each other. At the Timekeeper's palace, Fate was just in shock at what she was hearing. And at what she saw.

"Father is a dragon?!" she gaped.

"Yeah. He did this to Shadow. Can you help him?" Mephiles asked. Fate moved to Shadow's gasping form. He had a couple cracked ribs and his arm was broken. She winced and called for her sister. She couldn't heal, but her sister could.

"Fate? Oh my gosh! Shadow?!" Lilith gaped.

"Can you help him?" Fate asked. Lilith cringed, but she assessed the damage. She blinked her red eyes and placed her hands over the injured areas. She focused and flared out her wings in concentration. Shadow screamed at the forced healing, but then he panted when the pain began to numb out. He ground his teeth together and gave a shaky sigh when it was over.

"Okay…" Lilith said weakly and backed away. "I healed the most damaged parts, but he has to heal the rest on his own. Nothing's broken anymore. It will just be a little sore for a week."

"Good. Thanks…" Shadow grimaced and tried to sit up. Lilith pulled him back down.

"Don't move for a day," she ordered. Now she learned about their father and she was floored. "Father is a dragon? A dragon? Seriously?!"

"I said the same thing," Fate frowned.

"Does Mother know?" Lilith asked. At this, they turned to see Vol walking over with her.

"She does now," Vol nodded. "And, yes. I knew. So, girls, you both are half dragon. Moon dragon, to be precise."

"Moon dragon?!" Lilith gasped. "I read about them! They are beautiful creatures! But…they're extinct…"

"No. Not extinct. They do live. Your father is proof. They are just very hard to find," Vol said. "I am a silver dragon with the power of the stars. My daughter inherited my powers. Like me, there isn't much known about Orion's race. So, you can look. But I doubt you'll find anything."

"We'll tear the whole library apart," Sonic grumbled. Then he paused at Fate's glare. "And then put everything back the way we found it!"

"That's better," Fate nodded.

"Can someone carry me there?" Shadow asked. "Since I can't move…"

"I can," Vol nodded.

"Shadow…what did my Father do?" Fate asked.

"He…tossed me into the air…and slammed me into the ground…" Shadow grimaced at the memory. "Then he tossed me into the air again…and his tail smacked me away."

"Oh…" Solina said with a form of terror. When she went to turn away, Vol was quick to pull her back to him.

"I need your help moving Shadow, please. We must be gentle. And you know other places in the library to help us search. I will not let you retreat to your chambers. You have to be here for your daughters. You must be strong," Vol said gently. Solina shivered, but she nodded, too. "Yes, your husband is not who he is right now. Maybe time will change this. We can only wait and see."

"He's not my husband anymore!" she whimpered. "I turned him away!"

"What's this?" Mephiles blinked. Sonic and Iblis actually looked at each other with small shrugs.

"But he still loves you. He simply cannot be with you intimately. And you know you caused this, too. But don't be mad at Trishna for this," Vol said.

"I know. It's…Cydaea…!" Solina cringed and took in a deep breath for control. "Trishna…she was so sweet! She wanted nothing more than to laugh and play. And to see us all smile."

"And that's all she still wants," Vol nodded. "This is something I do know."

"I would really…like to see her again," Solina said. "To tell her that I'm sorry for all of this."

"You will have to wait until her heat is over. I'll arrange for a meeting when it's done," he agreed. "Since she is in her heat, you will have the urge to attack her. To prove you're better. We need to wait."

"Okay," Solina sniffled. Vol hugged her and kissed her forehead before having her help him move Shadow. He wanted her to research with them in the library. It would give her something else to think about, and she could gain some more knowledge of her husband's mysterious dragon side.


	8. Prophetic Starts and Hidden Desires

It was two days later that anything more would happen. Orion was still with Trishna. Her heat was still exceptionally strong. He wasn't sure why that was. It should have started to edge off, but something told him that it could have been her succubus side, too. It was her first heat, after all. Her body needed to learn how to balance it.

"Orion," she nuzzled into him.

"Hmm?" he asked lazily.

"I want to test something with you."

"Oh?"

"I remember Mother stating something. That it was possible to move a mark to another location on the body. As long as it was mutually consenting," she said. Now he perked his ears at her curiously.

"Go on," he chuckled.

"I was wondering if I could move your mark from here," she with a small grin as she touched where his mark was. He shivered with pleasure at that. "To here…"

She touched along his shoulder collar now. He thought and asked, "Why do that?"

"Well," she chuckled. "If you bite my mark as I bite yours…"

"Ah," he blinked at this. "What would happen?"

"I don't know. It's never been done before," she smiled softly and shrugged. Now he studied her with a smile.

"You have my undivided attention. Always had it," he winked. She giggled at him. Then she seemed to pause and frown with a sigh. He knew what that meant, and he rose up quickly to pull her against him.

"Talk to me, love," he said gently.

"I feel bad for Sonic," she whispered and got squeezed. "Yes, I know he wouldn't know how to truly care for me, but he did love me. He only wanted to help."

"I know. I know he did. But I cannot let him near you while you are in your heat. I may be able to only let him visit you after it's done. But not during it."

"I know that."

"Good. Because I could have easily killed him if he tried to get too close to you. I'm extremely protective of you right now. It just can't be helped," he muttered and moved her to straddle over his hips. At another pause she did, he watched her curiously. "Trishna?"

"Sorry…" she swallowed. He sat up now to hug her.

"What is it?" he asked. She was simply trembling now, and he gently nuzzled her. "You are safe with me. Talk to me. Let me know what's bothering you."

"Okay," she nodded and leaned into him. This was her dragon side. She was still horribly scarred in various ways from her ordeal. "The way we are…right now…it was how I marked…um…"

"I see," he said. He knew who she was talking about.

"I had…claimed him as my toy…since he marked me as one, too…" she shivered.

"Okay. You did not tell me that this was why he truly marked you. As a toy?!" he asked with a hard glare away from her to show she was not at fault. At her trembling, he squeezed her. "Now I see why you asked if it was just for needs that I'd be marking you for. You know that it's not true."

"I do…" she nodded.

"My Star Queen…treated like a simple toy…" he growled. "No more of that! Trishna, don't worry. I will never treat you like that. You are my mate. My equal."

"He…only marked me to…make me his toy…" she shivered hard. Then she gasped at the nuzzle he gave her mark.

"This is my mark now," he growled. "Mine and mine alone. His scent is gone from it. Fully and completely gone. You said you wanted to mark me in a new place. Where did you want to mark me?"

"In a place where you can reach my mark as I reach yours," she whispered. He relished her gasp when he locked his mouth on her neck. He felt her nuzzle into his shoulder, and he gave a muffled groan when she bit down. Then he paused. He heard her thoughts.

 _~Trishna?~_ he asked carefully.

 _~Orion…~_ she whispered weakly. He was stunned. He heard her.

 _~Was this the surprise?~_ he chuckled. At her consenting thought, he broke the connection when he took his mouth off her neck to kiss her passionately.

 _~Trishna!~_ she heard Fate shout to her. She blinked and cringed.

"Trish? What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she winced. Now he narrowed his eyes.

"Darling, please bite my shoulder," he said. She frowned, but nodded at the same time. Their connection was reestablished and he found out what it was _. ~Fate. This is your father. Yes, I can communicate to you through her. What do you want with her?~_

 _~Father?!~_ Fate gasped.

 _~Yes. What do you want? She's heavily in her heat. She is still very distraught over what Iblis did. What is it?~_ he asked again. _~If you want to know how she is, she's safe with me. No, she does not see me as a surrogate parent anymore. I am her mate, and she is my mate. You don't have to see her as a step-mother figure. I would never ask you to do that. Now, what more do you want?~_

 _~Everyone is worried about her. That's all…~_ Fate said softly.

 _~I can understand that.~_ he agreed.

 _~And…are you really a dragon?~_ she had to ask. At this, he found himself laughing softly.

 _~How about this. When Trishna is out of her heat, you can come see her with Lilith and Solina. Vol can be with you to keep things calm. Instead of telling you, I'll just show you. Is that a deal?~_ he asked in a way she always knew _. ~And I don't want Sonic, Iblis or any others with you. I'll hurt them.~_

 _~They won't be with us.~_ Fate agreed. Orion broke the contact and had Trishna rest on him.

"How long were you able to do that with her?" he asked with a mild form of amusement.

"Um…a very long time…" she smiled softly. "We discovered it by accident. We were all trying to meditate, and that's how it happened. I can talk to Lilith, too."

"And you all kept this a secret," he gave a soft laugh. She loved his laugh when he sounded like that. It sounded genuine to her. Like he was truly happy. He never laughed like that before. Even as he moved to have her again, she knew she loved him as much as he loved her. She couldn't believe how happy she was now. And he was only glad to have made her this happy. He never planned to see her leave this state of bliss ever again.

* * *

It was within that same day that a clue was finally found out about Orion's true home. It was nowhere near the plane they found it on. Solina was clearly surprised.

"So, the castle has the ability to appear if one knows how to call it in a similar setting," Mephiles mused as he read from the rather small manuscript they found. "And it can fully appear within this setting during full moon nights. In any plane of existence. Otherwise, the castle resides in a world where the moon is always full."

"A world with endless moonlit nights?!" Lilith gasped.

"Yes. And the moon was full when we found it here. As the moon wanes, so does the castle. But only here. Apparently, when the Moon King left, he hid the castle. Now that he's living at it again, the castle is revealed," he read further. "That's all this says."

"I'm glad I found the book in that locked away shelf," Solina smiled softly. "He must have seen a lot of places."

"I'm sure he has," Vol chuckled. Fate was still lost in her own thoughts. Her father was able to reach her through Trishna. She looked over at Lilith and gave her mental poke with the news. Now Lilith looked over with shock. Sonic was hovering over his friend to stay out of the way of the others.

"Sonic," Shadow grunted as he shifted himself. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just…very worried about her," he admitted. Iblis had already left the library to scout out anywhere else that had a full moon. "I mean…what do we do when we find her again? I doubt he'll let us take her away."

"It is doubtful. She's in her heat right now. If she gives him children, she wouldn't want to leave, too," Shadow said. "We would all just end up fighting over her, if you think about it. It would hurt her too much."

"When you put it like that, then yeah. It would. I just…hurt. I don't want any others. I don't need any others. She was the one I wanted and still want."

"When did you decide this, exactly? When did you really start to like her?"

"Oh. I guess…it was when she twinkled for us that first time. I was just…amazed. Other than her being able to fly after me to catch me and able to keep up…"

"Right," Shadow chuckled. "And I do agree. Her twinkling caught all of us by surprise."

"It was also how Iblis began to desire her, too," Mephiles smirked when he walked over to join the conversation. "I was, also, taken by surprise. But just that. I don't want her."

"Good," Sonic muttered.

"I'm still surprised that he desires her so. After all of this. The only way that could happen was if she tainted him," Mephiles mused aloud. "I wonder how that could have happened."

"Tainted?" Shadow asked.

"Yes. She was a virgin when he had her. The only way it could have happened was if he…tasted her. A certain way. Before he claimed her. All demons know not to do such a thing, but…I wonder now…" Mephiles blinked in thought and now went to find Iblis. When he saw his fiery brother skulking in the garden, Iblis snorted at him.

"What?" he asked.

"What did you do to her before you broke her in?" Mephiles asked.

"I tainted myself. And you know how. And no. I didn't know until it was done," he growled. "Now leave me be."

"You…actually…" Mephiles faltered. He ran a hand over his muzzle. "Maybe there's a way to fix this…"

"No. The only way to fix this is if she's killed, or if I'm killed. That's the only way," he said.

"At least that we know of," Mephiles now said and was gone when Iblis turned to regard him. He scowled. He didn't want to remove Trishna from him. If something was offered, then he would reject it in full. He liked being with her. At the thought of her never returning to his side, he only felt angered.

"Why do I feel…such emotions…" he muttered to himself and managed to sit down on a fire-proofed bench. "Is it because…because…"

 _I love her._ He winced at the thought. There was one hope that he had left. That her body would remember him through her heat. That a single piece of him would still get a chance to merge with her. If it did, then Orion could say nothing. He would have to let Iblis see Trishna then. And it would only be to see his offspring. Musing at this now, he found himself chuckling. He never thought of being a father before. Now he knew it had to happen if he ever wanted to see Trishna again.

* * *

Trishna's heat began to wear off four days later. It was still there, but not as bad as it was. Orion was still tense, but he had to see to the others. He couldn't delay it anymore.

"Call for your father if anything happens," he said and placed on the crown he wore for Solina.

"Should I just have him here now?" she frowned.

"As much as I would accept that, we need him to think that all is well. For now, at least," he said. "Just stay here. I'll be back as quickly as I can. You have enough food and drink. There is plenty of treasure for you to sort, too."

"Okay," she smiled.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you," she said back just as softly. His heart would always melt when she said this. Solina did give him affection, but nothing on a level like this. He always wondered why. He kissed her deeply and moved to leave through a portal to the other castle. She sighed and went to sort through the coins and treasures. When Orion appeared at the castle, his daughters were already confronting them.

"Father! Why didn't you say anything?" Lilith asked.

"We had a right to know!" Fate growled.

"Children. Behave," he muttered in a rather wary tone. That got them both to stiffen up with silent respect. He had secretly conditioned them to respond to certain things. When Solina finally appeared, he gave her nod of respect. "Solina. It's good to see you again."

"Orion…" she whispered. He moved to hug her now, and he sighed with a form of pain. When she burst into tears, he squeezed her. He knew that pain all too well now.

"I know. It hurts. It will always hurt now. I tried, Solina. For three thousand years, I tried to reason with you. I was patient. How much longer was I supposed to wait? How much more prolonging was I supposed to do? I couldn't wait anymore, Solina. How much time do we have left? What more could I do? I tried to talk to you. I tried again before I left. If you accepted me, then I wouldn't be in this situation right now. Neither would you. But you did reject me. You did spurn me away. It crushed me, Solina. So, I did the only other thing I could."

"You went to a child…" she muttered. At this, he growled and moved away from her.

"Blame Cydaea. Don't blame Trishna. You can even get mad at me, but remember this. It was Cydaea that started all of this. Trishna is just a pawn in everything. Her succubus side was in control. Then her dragon side tried to break through to see reason. She fought my advances as her dragon side. I fought her succubus side, too. Instinct eventually won out over reason. Even my desire to help balance her pushed through. She didn't want me to do what I did, Solina. I didn't, either. I did what I had to do to help bring her back into control of herself. After that…well…I realized that there was more to her than I thought. And Vol. I talked to him before taking Trishna to my side. We talked about everything in full. Even you know how much he suffers so," he said. "And Trishna is not a child. Vol kept her pure to keep all of this from happening."

"So, Daddy Vol knew of this?" Fate frowned.

"He had an idea," Orion nodded. "She is also the only other of his bloodline. He was protecting her. He was also harming himself, too, by keeping her so pure."

"Harming himself?" Lilith asked.

"She wasn't reproducing to help him. And he wasn't actively breeding out, either," he sighed. "I know he has standards, and even I'm surprised that he accepted Cydaea, but think about it. He had all this time to reproduce, too. He didn't. I'm not sure why."

"It was because I found none worthy of me," Vol said when he appeared behind them all. He heard this tail end of the conversation and decided to answer this intricate question. "Cydaea managed to track me down. Despite all my efforts to throw her off my trail. She was the only one that showed complete determination. That was why I chose to let her do what she wanted. It was why I made her vow to protect Trishna. And that brings me here now. Why are you here when she was alone?"

"Her heat is almost gone. She's in my chamber. She's safe," Orion said.

"No, she's not. I took her back to my home when one of your guards tried to be with her just now!" Vol growled.

"What?" Orion asked with a narrowed gaze.

"It wasn't your Captain, but it was another. He's unconscious from my fist to his jaw when she shouted for me," Vol said. "She's safe now. But I had to let you know."

"Thanks," Orion said in a rather dark way. Then he saw Solina's gaze. She was afraid of him in this mood. Now he knew why she always rejected him. And now he knew why she never loved him in full. He saw this as a complete show of weakness. "Interesting. After all these years this has been going on in secret. You feared me. I treated you like a complete equal, and you feared me. I showed no hatred to you. No malice. I ruled justly and fairly at your side and treated you with utmost respect. And all these years…"

"I knew what you really were…" Solina cringed. "Other than the dragon. But…I knew your true personality…"

"Well, you know I won't ever lay a hand on you. You have no reason to fear that. We'll make appearances in public when needed. I'll treat you like a sister. You deserve that much from me. As for our daughters, well, we will let them decide what needs to be done and what they wish to do. Until then, I told you that night before I left that it would be the last time I bothered you about the situation of offspring. I spoke the truth. Now I need to go," Orion muttered and left quickly. Trishna was his primary concern now. Everything else was secondary.

"He reminds me of how Mephiles lusts after Fate. It's almost the same way he was on trying to gain favor so long ago. What? You thought I didn't know about Mephiles trying to gain favors with you, Fate?" Vol chuckled with a small sigh. Fate's jaw simply dropped at this. "In a way, Orion curbed himself to gain favors for Solina. He tried so hard to be with you, Solina. And I know what he sees in you now."

"What does he see?" she asked weakly and accepted his hug.

"He can see how much you fear him. He…sees you as too weak to bear him proper offspring now. I'm sorry, Solina," he sighed. She cringed and snuggled into him. Then she whispered softly to him. Now he looked at her with shock. "Solina!"

"I think it would be fair," she swallowed.

"Solina, think about what you are asking! I can't do that," he said. "You are going out of your mind. You need to refocus."

"Daddy Vol?" Lilith blinked.

"Vol, I need to speak with you privately, please," Solina said regally. Vol cringed at this. Then he stood up tall and flexed his wings out. He held her at arm's length to fully regard her.

"I decline, Solina," he said in his deep, regal tone. "If you still insist on this, think it over carefully. I'll give you one week. And girls, Solina wants me to replace your father. You both have a right to know."

"What?!" Fate gaped at this. Solina trembled, but she remained firm in her decision.

"Mother!" Lilith said with shock.

"Vol, you've been there for me more than Orion ever did. Can we please just…talk about this?" she asked.

"Just talk," Vol nodded grimly. "Girls, if your father comes here, you need to let me know if I'm still here. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"I want him to get the wrong idea," Solina muttered low enough for him to hear. He shook his head at this and followed her. He knew her mind was filled with a form of vengeance, but none of it was towards Trishna at all. She had proof that Trishna tried to back out of everything.

"I think…Cydaea was right…" Fate whispered to Lilith.

"About what?" her sister asked.

"How…a single mark…could destroy…" Fate shivered. They both hugged each other and wept softly.

* * *

Orion was cradling Trishna in his lap. She was clinging to him and shivering uncontrollably.

"You were right. I should have called for Vol to guard you. I'm sorry," he whispered.

"He just…lunged at me…and…" she whimpered.

"Can you tell me how it started?" he asked gently. She could only tremble. "I see. Okay. Can you bite me?"

"Okay," she swallowed and did just that. He placed his mouth over her mark and saw her thoughts.

 _=She was sitting in their room at the moon castle. All was well until a knock was on the door. At the sight of a guard with golden yellow fur and deep blue eyes, she had frowned._

 _"Can I help you?" she asked._

 _"Yeah. Um, where is his Majesty? I had a question for him," the guard asked._

 _"Oh. He had to go back for a bit. He'll be here soon," she nodded. Her scent may have been vanishing, but it was concentrated in the room. The guard was now overcome by it. He couldn't help himself, and he lunged at her to pin her down onto the treasure bed. "No! Stop it!"_

 _"I'm…trying…!" he cringed. "Please…forgive me!"_

 _"Daddy!" she cried out. The silver fist that appeared next to knock the guard out was the last thing she remembered before getting hugged and carried away.=_

"I'll have to air out the room. I see," Orion muttered when he pulled away. "He was still an idiot for confronting you like that!"

She could only nod as he held her. As he kissed her and rocked her, Vol was having a heated discussion with Solina. The proud queen simply couldn't see reason.

"Solina, you are going about this the wrong way," Vol growled at her in her chambers. "You are now dragging me into this mess! All I wanted to do was to protect Trishna!"

"And look at what happened!" Solina snapped. "Cydaea still won!"

"Do you think I wanted that?!" Vol argued. "I told her not to! I refused Iblis! They ignored me. They slighted me. And now we see the repercussions of this. I protected Trishna from this. For so long I protected her. I didn't want this to happen to her. After Iblis did what he…it took three months for my daughter to mentally heal."

"What?" Solina blinked at this.

"He used her like a toy!" he seethed and turned his back to her. "If it had to be anyone else…I would have thought Sonic. Maybe. Even then…"

"I didn't realize how bad it was," she admitted.

"I know she's half succubus. But she's half dragon, too. Her dragon side was almost…I'm just…lucky she was given back to me before any more damage could have been done. I at least wanted her first time to be better. I wanted the one to do such things to her to be…"

"Not like Iblis," Solina swallowed.

"I would have preferred to have Trishna untouched for another thousand years. She knew how it all worked. She knew what to expect. Her mother taught her all of that."

"I'm sorry about Trishna. I really am. But…Vol…" she sighed and moved to hug him from behind. "You know how close we've almost been."

"Don't remind me," he muttered.

"Why couldn't I have met you first?"

"I'm not royalty. It would not have worked."

"It can work now."

"No. It can't. You know this."

"I just don't see how it's fair for Orion to simply…go off and…"

"You almost did the same thing with me and your heat. I kept myself away from you."

"There is no need for that now."

"Yes, there is," he said and turned in her arms to face her. "You have two daughters that need their mother now. More than ever. You having me shut away in here like this is sending them mixed signals. We can't do anything. If something does come about, then we will be questioned. There's just…too much going on right now. I really do worry for everyone's mental health. I don't know what the future will hold now."

"It's funny," she murmured and pressed into his chest. "Orion…asked me how much longer he had to wait. How he tried to be after me for so long. And in the shadows…"

"You were after me. Yes, I know. And now I get to ask the question I never got to ask. Why?"

"Because I trust you," she trembled. "That's why."

"Solina…I'm sorry. But this can't happen," he said. "I'll let you confide in me. I'll let you get close enough to feel safe. But I cannot pass that last boundary."

"You said a week, right?" she asked.

"Yes. A week."

"I can wait," she nodded. "I already know what I want, but for you, I will wait."

"I know you will. I need to see to Trishna. I can't leave her alone anymore. Not until her heat is gone. It's not safe for her to be alone at any time."

"So…that's why you said a week?" she smiled.

"In so many words," he chuckled. She nodded at this and planted a kiss on his cheek. He sighed and nodded back before leaving her room. When her door closed, she only found it so ironic that all this time she had secretly desired Vol. Now she may be able to finally get what she wanted.

"I told you so," Cydaea chuckled when she appeared.

"We don't know yet," Solina said.

"Give it a week. Then you'll know for sure," the succubus nodded. "I gave Orion my side of the bargain. As much as I had forgotten about it. Soon, you will have yours."

"I know," Solina smiled and watched her vanish away. "Soon. Your bargain with me will be over. Everything is falling into place at last."

* * *

Orion was letting Trishna sleep against him in the safety of her room. He was silently monitoring what was going on. He saw the conversation before it happened. He found himself laughing.

"Solina. What a conniving, scheming bitch you are! Everyone has their secrets. Don't they? I'll still play stupid, Solina. I'll play your little game. But the moment you and Vol produce something…I won't blame my best friend. He tried to back out. You and Cydaea…heh. The fruit really doesn't fall far from the main tree, does it? At least Trishna was raised better. She takes after Vol so much. She's honest about everything. And that's why I love her so much," he muttered to himself. He waited patiently for an hour until Vol appeared. When his silver form was leaning in the doorway, he saw Orion's smirk. He knew what that meant all too well.

"So, you saw all of it?" Vol asked. "The discussion?"

"I saw all of it. Also…did you know that she bargained with Cydaea long ago? This was found out just after you left the room. Not too sure about what, though…"

"What?" Vol asked. Of course, he wouldn't have known. Now he was livid, but he just gave a deep sigh and shook his head. "I feel…disgraced. But, aside from all that, you did see what she spoke of with me in full?"

"I did. I'd say I was stunned, but she is related to Cydaea. What do you think, old friend? After all of this?"

"I'm having her wait until Trishna is free of her heat. Then I will see what she wants. I'm sure she will still want me. Tell me this. Did you ever suspect?"

"I had a faint idea, but I kept pushing it aside. I saw how she would glance at you, but I didn't think it was this bad. Now I have to wonder what Cydaea's little bargain with her was all about. Hmm. Actually…"

"What?"

"Maybe you can ask that after Solina gets what she wants. If she gets what she wants," Orion grinned at him. That had Vol laughing softly. "Regardless, it looks like your people may be coming back at last."

"In the most bizarre of circumstances. You may be right," Vol nodded.

"So, sure. Let her help you out that way. I can see it like that. But you have to tell her to never hold a grudge against me when she does get you. I have no doubt that she will."

"I'll make her vow before anything happens. That I can do. It's what I did with Cydaea, after all," he nodded. "And I will make her vow another thing. Maybe several things."

"And what's that?"

"To not abandon her station. To continue to treat you with respect. To hold no ill towards my daughter. And, lastly, to not turn against me or backstab me."

"Good calls on all of those," he nodded.

"How is she?" Vol asked.

"She sleeps. I don't see her waking for some time. She did tell me what happened. The guard tried to fight her scent. So, I'll give him his first and last warning when I see him again. My chamber in that castle needs to be aired out. That was the whole problem."

"That guard is lucky that I didn't freeze him after punching him," Vol snorted. "Anyways, if you intend to take her back, I'll air out that room now."

"Please do," Orion nodded. Vol left the room shortly after. Orion closed his eyes and felt Trishna running her hand up his chest. He looked at her and seemed to tremble. "Solina wants your father for herself."

"Does she? That's…sad that she feels that way. But, it is up to him if he wants to accept her advances," she sighed and pressed into him. "I know that Dad can take care of himself. He can make his own decisions. I'm just worried of what happens if I meet any others."

"I'll be right there with you. And it will be the same with your father," he vowed.

"Tell me," she murmured and gasped at the hard lick he gave her mark. "Does the moon set in our home?"

"Our home…" he muttered and chuckled. "That it is. And no, the moon never wanes. The realm we now live in is a world with endless full moon nights. Yes, it does revert to day, but the moon is always full."

"Really?" she smiled. "Tell me. Have you ever seen me do a starlight dance? Other than what is done at the Solstice Festivals?"

"I don't think I have," he said. "Is this a dance that you do any different from the others?"

"Well, instead of explaining it, I would like to show you. I usually slip into a trance, but my succubus side is actually aware through it. I also can't stop until the sun starts to come up. With a Solstice, it's different. When I dance alone, it's usually much more intense."

"Interesting to know. I think I would love to see you dance," he smiled.

"Would you like to see it now if the moon is out?" she asked. He kissed her passionately and rose up with her. He made the portal for them and walked her through it. In the field before the castle, the moon was already starting to reveal itself. The days were incredibly short here. On looking around, she frowned.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"I like to dance on a high surface. Like a small podium or something," she said.

"Stay here," he said and quickly teleported to the Timekeeper gardens. When he came back, he set a rather large stone table on the ground and made sure it was steady enough by climbing up onto it and walking on it first. She giggled at him and got squeezed.

"Thank you," she said and got kissed.

"Dance for me," he smiled warmly. He lifted her onto the table to watch her stand tall. Then she faced the moon and spread her wings out. At a sudden recollection, she blinked.

"Um…I just noticed that I'm not wearing any clothes…" she blushed.

"Does it matter? I thought you liked running around naked," he teased lightly and laughed when her wings folded over herself. "Right, I get it. The guards. I'll be right back."

"Good!" she laughed. He left through another portal and came back with some shimmering cloth for her. She was able to fashion it to drape over her neck to cover her chest. She tied the other two smaller pieces to her hips easily. He only growled at this. She was a complete turn on now. She winked at him and turned to face the moon again.

He chuckled and watched her. Then his face turned from amused to completely awe struck when she began to glow. When she began to dance, her body began to shoot off the small stars to let them hover around her. She was so beautiful like this, that he found tears stinging his eyes. Then she turned to gaze at him with glowing red cats' eye pupils amidst glowing silver orbs. "You are crying?"

"I have never seen anything so beautiful…" he whispered and stretched a gloved hand out to her. She thrummed softly and let her tail caress down his wrist.

"You're wearing the wrong crown," she murmured. Her tail moved up and neatly flicked off the circlet he wore. That had him grin a touch savagely.

"You aren't wearing a crown," he pointed out.

"Then make me one to match yours," she chuckled. "Make me whatever you wish to match you. Am I not your equal in all of this?"

"You are the other half of my soul," he said softly. "The part I was clearly missing."

"Good to know," she whispered. As he continued to admire her perfect beauty, he didn't notice that his other guards were doing the same thing. If he realized this, he likely would have killed them all. Luckily his Captain was moving through the small ranks and shaking them out of their stupors.

"But, Sir…" a guard said.

"No! His Majesty will rend you limb from limb! You saw how easily he toyed with the intruders. Don't let him toy with you in the same manner. Yes, his new queen is…something else. But she is his. Remember that," the Captain reminded him. The guard only nodded. The one that scented her heat was in just as much trouble on seeing her like this. He was also going to be closely watched. There was no choice in it, and Vol was going to ensure it as he saw the Moon King weep for his Star Queen. The prophecy had just taken hold.

* * *

Sonic was about to lose all hope. It was only the next day, and he felt that he would never see Trishna again. All that he had left now were memories. He was going to treasure them with everything he had. He went into his room and paused. There was someone waiting for him on his bed. And that someone was Trishna.

He didn't notice that she was wearing white gold and silver armor now that seemed to cover over her chest and thighs in an intricate way. He didn't even notice the new crown on her forehead that was made like a tiara and set with sparkling diamonds with star sapphires and other precious stones ranging from intense blue to lighter blues. She had matching stones on her hips and in the armor on her chest where it connected. A sheet of shimmering blue silk was moving regally between her hips along her front and back. She was very much the queen now.

"Hush," she said and moved swiftly to place a finger over his mouth. "Close the door for me."

He could only nod and do that. When he moved back to her, she hugged him and whispered, "I don't have much time. Orion agreed to give me a moment to speak with you. He's watching us even now. Just listen carefully. Okay? It's important."

"I miss you so much!" he whimpered and clung to her.

"I know you do," she smiled and pet the top of his head. Much of her enticing scent was too faint for him to notice. It was why Orion allowed her to visit him to talk to him. Her natural scent of rain easily covered up what was left of her heat scent. When he moved for her mark, she averted her neck. She instinctively knew what he was going to do. "No. You cannot touch it anymore. If you do, then Orion will kill you. I know it was instinctive for you to do it. Don't do it anymore. I don't know if I need to talk to Iblis, but it's doubtful."

"Don't talk to him! And…I understand about your mark. But…is there any way that I can go with you? I mean…" he winced. "I can't bear another night without you, Trish! Even if we don't sleep together…I just…I need you around. I can't stand it!"

"Sonic…" she sighed.

"I'll go so far as to serve under you," he muttered. "I don't care anymore."

"Listen to yourself!"

"I know. I had a lot of time to think. I honestly can't be without you. Even if I'm not with you intimately, or away from you as a friend. I need you close to me. You are everything to me now, Trish."

"I see," she sighed. "Maybe a compromise can be reached with you. Come with me."

"Okay," he nodded and took her clawed hand with his gloved one. She rose up with him and watched the portal appear. She took him through it, and he found himself staring at Orion in his throne. He was wearing his dark crown, and he gestured for Trishna. She thrummed softly and moved to settle neatly in his lap. Her crown seemed very similar to his, but it was in a circlet form.

"Sonic," Orion mused. "I understand your situation. So, I'll make a bargain with you."

"I'm listening," Sonic nodded.

"I don't mind you wanting to be here for her as a friend. Maybe even to help guard and protect her. But it can only be for that," Orion warned. "If I find out you did anything else with her, I will know. And I will show no mercy when it comes to what I will do if I was betrayed."

"I understand," he nodded again.

"There is also a very slim chance," Orion mumbled out. "That she may be carrying a possible child for you. She pointed this out. If it's true or not, I will hold no malice towards this child."

"Trish?" Sonic blinked.

"It may also hold true with Iblis. I honestly don't know yet," she sighed. Sonic didn't like the sound of that. "We'll just have to see."

"Anyways," Orion muttered and squeezed her to him. "As I have stated. If you want to be around her as either a friend or a protector, I won't mind. You will be able to come and go to keep this secret. I know you are not one to simply abandon your friends."

"That I'm not. You know me rather well," Sonic chuckled softly.

"You remind me of Vol with this outlook. It's fine," he nodded.

"Trishna, you have my vow. I won't turn against you or Orion. If we have a child, I'll be there for you and our child. I can't let you leave my life. I'll do whatever I can to have you stay in it."

"Are you sure of this, Sonic? Is this really what you want?" she asked softly.

"It is," he nodded sternly. Orion chuckled lightly at this interesting turn of events.

"I accept your allegiance," Orion said regally with a nod. "A personal chamber will be set up for you shortly."

"Thanks," Sonic said and seemed to sigh with a form of relief. He just committed himself to serving Trishna. He didn't regret it, either. Moving to check out his new room when a guard gestured to him, Trishna seemed to shake her head sadly.

"What's wrong?" Orion asked gently. "It's his choice."

"I know. But…what will happen…if the others find out?" she frowned.

"Then he will be the one to deal with it. This is what he wants. I'll fashion an amulet for him to come here. It will only bring him. No others," he said. She nodded at this and rested her head against his neck. He knew she was worried, but he also knew that he would protect her to the fullest.

Back at the main house in Sonic's world, Shadow was reclining back in his bed. Lilith was hovering over him to ensure that he was doing well. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Thanks. For the healing," he muttered.

"Don't mention it," she smiled softly. "I'm surprised at how extensive the damage was done. I didn't think that Father would have done such a thing."

"It was to…prove a point. That he couldn't be beaten," he sighed. "My defeat…was to help them leave."

"What?" she blinked.

"I saved their lives. Trishna…she was in her heat. If they all approached her…" he winced. Now her jaw dropped.

"So you…sacrificed yourself…?"

"In a sense. Your father said I was a good sport. He also said that he would…put in a good word with Fate for me. I feel guilty about it, but…"

"Maybe he meant a good word for me," she said. He looked at her with surprise. "You selflessly gave yourself up to defend the others against a nasty situation. For that, I commend you."

"I…um…" he found himself rather awkward. Then he paused in shock at the kiss she gave him next.

"Thank you," she said and smiled softly when she pulled away.

"You're welcome," he said back softly. Now he found himself filled with conflicting thoughts. He did want to try to be with Fate. Now Lilith kissed him. He hated to admit that he liked that kiss. And he wanted her to kiss him again whenever the chance represented itself.


	9. The Birth of A New Lineage

A week later, Vol approached Solina late at night. He regarded her silently when she let him into her room. At how she looked at him, he sighed. "I take it you are stern in your decision."

"I am," she nodded.

"Fine. However, I need to tell you. Orion saw your conversation with Cydaea. So, before I can do anything, you need to answer some questions. And you have to vow to me on a few things," he said. Her jaw seemed to drop and her eyes widened with disbelief. "When did Cydaea make a bargain with you?"

"I…" she trembled and turned around quickly to hide her shock. He did not go over to her. He had to let her answer in her own words. After calming down, she figured it was inevitable. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at him. "Before I met Orion or you, I had asked her to find me someone that was ideal. She told me that she could and I dared her. I'm guessing that you knew of Orion before you met me?"

"Of course. I met Orion several years prior. Likely before he met with Cydaea, for that matter. The first time I ever saw Cydaea was when I found that Grecian amphora. I had never seen her until then," he shrugged.

"I figured as much. Well…" she sighed. "After I met him and saw you…I knew that it was you that I really wanted. Yes, Orion was dark then. Manipulative and unrelenting. I still couldn't believe how you and he became friends. But, I ended up marrying Orion. He did change his ways after a while. It showed that he wanted to be with me. And, yes, I had Fate and Lilith with him. But every time I saw you…I just...it was why I always insisted to try to make sure your stays were as pleasant as possible."

"That was why?" Vol blinked and barked out laughter. "I had no idea! I thought you playing the proper hostess."

"Of course," she shrugged. "Do you remember the first time I tried to tell you how I felt?"

"I do. And I did notice how you seemed very disgruntled with Cydaea when you saw her with me."

"Jealousy gets the better of everyone, it seems. But I did everything I could to curb it. I just barely kept myself in control. I still find it hard to believe that I went to you in my heat…"

"And I spurned you away. I had no need for it with Cydaea still heavily engrained around me. Even with Trishna in my presence, it blocks that out. Anyways, now that I know what that conversation is about, it's time to tend to the other part. The vows I want you to give to me."

"I already know that I will not lay a hand on Trishna or any of her future children. They are innocent," she said.

"And you will not hold any ill will against Orion. You will also respect him," he said. "He went to you several times. You were the one that turned him away. You hid from him when you came into heat. He tried to be there for you, and you declined him. You cannot hold a grudge. He does not deserve such treatment."

"I…" she winced and shivered. "Very well."

"And, furthermore, you will not abandon your roll as queen. Nor will you spurn aside Fate and Lilith."

"I would never do such a thing!"

"Good. Now, with that out of the way…" he muttered and finally moved from where he stood. When he moved to stand in front of her, she felt her heart racing. "How badly do you want this?"

"I have lost count of the nights I laid awake wondering…" she whispered. His mouth soon planted on hers. It would lead to many other things later in the night.

Orion was keeping an eye on Sonic, but the blue hedgehog was keeping to his vow. He went back and forth almost daily to keep the suspicions down. He did continue to play out his mourning over Trishna, but that was all a well-played act now. He did notice how Lilith was acting towards Shadow. He even informed this to Orion.

"So, Lilith has taken a liking to Shadow? Interesting," Orion chuckled. "It's all fine by me."

"Does Mephiles know?" Trishna asked.

"Not really. I could drop a hint," Sonic shrugged.

"Try and do so discreetly," Orion nodded. Trishna chuckled and winced. Her belly was starting to stretch now. "A lot of them in there?"

"Them?" she asked softly.

"This is your dragon side. You may be producing eggs," he said gently. She blinked at this with surprise.

"I see…" she sighed.

"You may be growing them within you for a good month. Don't worry. I'll have everything you need," he smiled.

"Does she need anything now?" Sonic asked.

"I am hungry," she admitted. Sonic moved off to see what he could find for her. When he left, Orion gave a heavy lick to her mark to feel her shiver.

"Did he try to reclaim you?" he growled. "I never asked."

"When I saw him again," she whispered. "But, I diverted him. He hasn't tried since."

"Good," he said and licked the mark again before holding her close. He sighed now and started to scan as far ahead as he could to see what was going on around him. He had to keep a closer eye on the future now with his children quickly developing within her. He wanted her to be as safe as possible.

* * *

A month later, Sonic had himself agonizing over Trishna to keep to the acting. Mephiles was ready to slap him. Shadow had recovered in full from his injuries, but he noticed something odd about Sonic. He walked over to his friend when they were alone. Sonic felt his shoulder get tapped on, and he glanced up at Shadow. "Yes?"

"I couldn't help but notice," Shadow started and sat next to him. "That you're pining less and less over Trishna."

"I know. Maybe," he sighed and figured he'd let the bomb drop. "It's because I know she's safe and that I'll be seeing her again later tonight. Possibly even sooner than that, now that I think about it."

"What?" Shadow looked at him with disbelief.

"Yeah. Orion contacted me to tell me just a bit ago. Trishna is ready to give birth. Or, ah, lay eggs, apparently," Sonic said. "He thinks that one of them might be mine."

"What?!" Shadow gaped now.

"I've also been in contact with her secretly. I had to keep it secret up to this point. Anyways, I need to get going. She might need my help. Laters!" he said cheerfully, got off the couch and went through the portal that he activated. Shadow was completely stunned and speechless. Sonic had kept all of them in the dark about Trishna. He had to tell the others.

"Shadow?" Lilith asked.

"Sonic…played us all for fools…!" Shadow hissed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked seriously.

"He's been seeing her! Trishna! All this time!" he said. Lilith looked at him like he was crazy. "I just saw him make a portal and leave! She's ready to give birth!"

"I…" she was speechless. She ran over to her sister to tell her.

"Are you serious?!" Fate gasped. Now she focused on Trishna. _~Trish?!~_

 _~NO! Not now!~_ Trishna gasped in pain.

 _~It's…true…?~_ Fate whispered.

 _~This is your father.~_ Orion growled out a bit from the hard, clamping bite that Trishna did to his shoulder to help him make the connection. _~Yes, she's in a bit of pain from the eggs getting ready. Don't disturb her. If you insist on coming by later, then wait three hours. You will be denied entrance if you appear earlier.~_

 _~Yes, Father.~_ She agreed. _~But, would she need my help? Lilith's help?~_

 _~Hmm. Well…~_ He seemed to sigh _. ~Sonic is here, but having the two of you here as a comfort factor may also help. Fine. Come along. If any others insist to show up, they_ have _to wait outside. Vol is here, too, and he will ensure it.~_

 _~Okay!~_ Fate said. The connection broke, and she called everyone together. "We are all going to head to Father's castle in the moon world. Trishna's finally ready to lay eggs."

"What?!" Iblis asked with surprise. "Where's Sonic?"

"He's already there," Shadow muttered with irritation. At this, Iblis looked at him questionably. "He's been in contact with her for some time. He hid this from us."

"He did? Wow…" Mephiles mused. "I need to commend him for putting up with us for so long."

"What do you mean by that?" Fate asked him curiously.

"It's the fact that he kept something hidden from us for this long," Iblis growled and stood up. "We need to go there. I need to see Trishna for myself."

"Um, well, if we all go, only Lilith and I can see her. The rest of you would have to wait," Fate said. "Father's orders, you know?"

"Her birthing. Right," Shadow nodded.

"Daddy Vol will be there to make sure that nothing happens," Fate sighed. "He has to be there."

"And that's fine. We should go now," Shadow said calmly. Lilith could only agree. Fate swallowed a bit and blinked at the coordinates her father just gave her. The two stood to face each other and focused to make the portal. As they moved through it, in Tails's room, Cydaea sighed and flicked her tail from where she was reclining with him on his bed. He was giving her a rather nice back rub.

"I need to check on my daughter, too," she said. "I should check on her. I am her mother."

"Do you think I could go? I never get to go anywhere," Tails frowned.

"Well…" she mused and pet into his snuggling form. "If anyone asks, I'll say you're my responsibility. That could work. Okay. Just cling to me and we'll go."

"I do that, anyways," he grinned. She laughed and pat the top of his head.

"You are so cute! C'mon, dear. Let's go," she chuckled. She had felt Vol call for her. Even he knew that, despite everything being mainly her fault, she had to protect her daughter in this critical time. Now with Tails in her arms, she snapped her fingers to make the portal to where she was called. Bracing herself for the encounter, she took a deep breath and stepped through the portal to see to what needed to be done.

* * *

When Cydaea got there, she found that the main throne room had become a waiting room. Orion was seated in the throne and mildly glaring at everyone there. Vol was standing just outside the bedroom chamber. Sonic was sitting on a step near the throne. Fate and Lilith were, at first, sent to see Trishna, but they were declined entry. When asked why, Vol was able to answer it.

"This is her dragon side. She feels secure when she's alone. Yes, you came to help. However, she needs to do this on her own. It's instinctive. Just wait with the others," he said. He caught a glance at Cydaea, but he only snorted at her to show he acknowledged her.

"Okay, Furball. I need to leave you here for a bit," Cydaea said to Tails and set him down.

"You brought him?" Sonic smirked.

"He asked to tag along," she shrugged. Orion gave a small glare at her to send shivers down her spine. "I'm only here for Trishna's safety."

"I know. And I'm out here to ensure that everyone behaves," Orion muttered. At the sudden shout from his personal chambers, he cringed. He gave a warning glare at the others there and watched his Captain walk over.

"I'll watch them. You go to her," he said.

"Thanks," Orion nodded and moved swiftly. The Captain moved to stand in front of the throne with his arms crossed over his chest. Fate and Lilith easily recognized him and were surprised. Iblis and Mephiles were actually impressed with the castle structure. Each block was clearly hand-carved and made to fit together with complete precision. It was almost Egyptian in how flawless the seams were without any form of nails or support structure to make it work.

"Don't leave…" Trishna whimpered and clung to Orion. She had fashioned a bowl-like nest out of the treasures with soft cloth lining the inside. It was completely instinctive of her to do.

"I won't," he promised and sat on the outside of the small nest to let her rest against him. Her belly wasn't very large, but it was enough to show that she was ready. "Fate and Lilith are here."

"I don't care," she growled bitterly. Now he realized that was her dragon side on what Vol said. She didn't want any others there. She feared they would destroy her eggs.

"They would never harm our children. You know this," he said. She just cringed. Then her eyes squeezed shut and she shouted when her body buckled. He hugged her and noticed she went into a trance. Then he saw the first of many slender, silver-toned eggs slowly appear. He chuckled softly and continued to hold her entranced form. This was another reason why he had to be there. She was very vulnerable in this state.

For the next hour, he watched each egg appear in every five to ten minute intervals. He counted six in total. He was exceptionally proud. But then his smile vanished at the sight of a darker blue egg that appeared. Then his eyes narrowed at the sight of purplish red egg that appeared right after that. He spat out his anger at this, but he would do nothing. He vowed that he wouldn't. And Trishna would fight him if he tried anything. So would Vol.

"I think it's over…" she whispered when she came to.

"Yeah. I think so, too," he muttered. She looked at him slowly and turned to inspect the eggs. Then she saw the reason for his mood. Now she gave him a look of complete challenge when she moved to carefully pool them together to cover them all with her wings. "No, Trishna. They are safe. I will still guard them."

"Is that so?" she said with a low growl. It was a mother's instinct to protect her young now. She was far more dangerous than he was in this mood.

"You are my Star Queen," he said reverently.

"Prove it," she muttered. He nodded and moved from her side to do the one thing he would never do.

"Sonic. Iblis. Come here. And show respect," Orion warned. Iblis only nodded and now moved into the room with Sonic. "She's very protective. Look. Don't touch."

"Right," Sonic nodded.

"Agreed," Iblis said. On seeing Iblis after so long, Trishna could only nod to him. Iblis felt her mark on him burn at her closeness, but it was easily ignored when he saw her rise up to reveal the two odd-colored eggs. Sonic could only smile softly. Iblis let out a small chuckle. After letting them see, she looked over at Orion to show that her trust in him was restored. He smiled gently at her and watched her move over the eggs again to cover them. She was going to be like this until they started to harden.

"It will be a week before she feels the need to move," Vol said. "I'll be watching over her, too."

"I know. Trishna? Can you let any others see them?" Orion asked.

"No. Not now…" she sighed and rested over the nest carefully.

"I'm proud of you, love. Rest easy. I'll be right back," he said. She only nodded and closed her eyes. Her body desperately needed the rest now. Orion was going to handle the small crowd. She had to let him take care of it. She was simply too weak to do much of anything right now.

* * *

It would be another two days before she even considered letting any others see the new eggs. The only time she slept was when Vol or Orion was in the room to help guard over her. She trusted no others. After the shells hardened a touch, she allowed others to look, but she refused to let the eggs be held.

"Trishna," Vol said soothingly when she growled. "Don't worry. They won't handle the eggs."

"The shells are not strong enough," she trembled and continued to cover over them. "Something might happen."

"Not with us here," Orion said gently. She sighed and closed her eyes. She hadn't been getting enough sleep. Constant guarding over the eggs and waking at every small sound was starting to get to her. Fate and Lilith were shocked at the wary glare their sister gave them when they inspected the eggs.

"It's new mother mode," Vol explained carefully. "Until they hatch, she'll be like this."

"I can't help it," Trishna winced in an apologetic way. "I know you likely won't hurt them. I just…can't…"

"It's okay," Fate smiled with understanding. "How long until they hatch?"

"They would be our half-brothers and sisters," Lilith chuckled. "We would never hurt them."

"Another two weeks," Vol said when he felt the eggs gently. Only he and Orion were permitted to touch them. As dragons, they would know how to do so safely.

"And for them?" Fate asked about the other two eggs.

"The same," Orion nodded. He had to act like a complete father figure towards them to show he accepted them. The eggs were innocent, after all. Even though they weren't his, they still belonged to Trishna. He knew he'd be training them with the others, too, to keep them in line.

"Can I see my kid yet?" Iblis growled out from the main hallway. Trishna bared her teeth and seemed to hiss.

"That's a definite no," Orion muttered. He glanced at his daughters and made an eye motion to the door. They both rose up at once and prepared to tell Iblis to back down.

"Trained them well, have you?" Vol asked and helped soothe his irritated daughter back down.

"You could say that," his friend grinned a touch wickedly in response.

"It's not that I don't want him to see his egg," she said. "He sounds like he wants to harm it."

"Ahh," Vol said. "Let me handle it."

"Very well," Orion nodded. Vol kissed his daughter's temple and rose up to move out of the bedroom. He gently pulled back Fate and Lilith to regard Iblis. "Do you plan to touch or harm your egg?"

"No," Iblis said. "I just want to help guard it. That's all."

"Then you need to adjust the tone in your voice," Vol advised. "When she heard you, she thought you were going to harm the egg. Yes, I know it's how you are. But you need to work on this."

"All right," he nodded. The twin girls watched him warily follow Vol to the bedroom chamber. Trishna gave him a scrutinizing glare. "I'm sorry if I sound like I want to harm our young. That is not the case. You know how I sound. I only wish to help protect it."

"And see her in the process," Orion snorted. "I understand the child. We will all protect the young ones. That's a complete given."

"Can I hold our egg?" Iblis asked.

"No…" Trishna winced. "The shell is still soft. I cannot risk it being jostled. I'm just very protective right now."

"That's fine," Iblis said in a careful tone. "I respect what needs to be done to protect our child."

"Thank you," she shivered. Iblis seemed to growl when Sonic moved past him swift to give a box to Orion.

"I got the butcher to get something for me," he grinned.

"Oh?" Orion asked and opened the parcel. He laughed softly at the select choices of soft, raw meat cube cuts. Trishna saw it and pounced on it. "You scored a point. This is like chocolate to her. Good job."

"I'll do better!" Iblis snorted and left.

"It's why I did it," Sonic smirked after the fiery hedgehog left.

"Very clever," Vol chuckled. Fate and Lilith giggled and moved to sit down near their brooding sister. Right after the treats were devoured, Trishna sighed and carefully reclined over her eggs. Orion pressed a gentle hand to her back between her wings to keep her calm. When she gave a small whine that was mixed with a growl, he recognized what that meant rather quickly.

"All but Vol and I need to leave for now. She's getting stressed again," Orion said calmly. The room quickly cleared out. "It's okay. They're gone."

"Okay…" she sighed and moved to snuggle into his side when he reclined against her. Vol moved to help keep the eggs secured. "Daddy, you can become your natural form? To help guard them?"

"I don't know if this room is big enough," he chuckled. Orion laughed softly at that, but Vol was able to become his natural form to carefully coil about the room to guard the eggs. He was even able to shield her and Orion with a large wing. He glanced at them mildly and said, "No funny stuff while under there!"

"I get it," Orion said with a roll of his eyes. Trishna giggled softly, but she felt much better now. It didn't take long for her to fall into a desperately needed sleep.

* * *

It was another week before the eggs were deemed safe by her to be carefully handled. Even then, she had the holder sitting directly in front of her to watch over everything carefully. Vol was hardly allowed out of his natural form unless it was to eat. By changing into a smaller form, he cut back on the meat consumption. Even he was overly cautious on anyone handling the eggs. They were his future people, after all.

"They're so small for dragon eggs!" Lilith said when she held an ostrich-sized, oval egg in her hands.

"Yes, but they will grow fast when they hatch," Orion nodded. When Sonic and Iblis were able to handle their eggs, they had to do so with utmost caution. The wrong move done would have easily sent Trishna into a furious wave of vengeance to protect her offspring.

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Iblis asked when he carefully held his purplish red egg with both fiery clawed hands. He could do so with one, but it was not advised.

"Not really," Vol said. "It just depends on the luck of the roll, so to speak."

"I wouldn't mind either," Sonic seemed to shrug as he carefully held his egg. Trishna appeared bored from her lucid look, but it was something that Vol did, too. She was quite aware of everything. When the eggs were given back to her, she settled them back in with the rest of the clutch. When they left, she relaxed in full and seemed to shiver.

"Darling?" Orion asked. She just trembled and folded her wings over the eggs to guard them again.

"You don't like anyone touching them, do you?" Vol asked softly in his natural form. At the shake of her head, he sighed and rested his muzzle carefully against her back. "I know. It's stressful on you. We limit the amount of handling. We always watch them. You're doing very well for your first clutch."

"When will this happen again?" she asked.

"Every five years," Cydaea said when she appeared from the shadows. "It's from your succubus blood. Angels are much longer in spans between them, but succubi have it in shorter waves."

"But…if it's from my succubus side, then why did I lay dragon eggs?" she asked.

"That's a good question!" her mother blinked. "A succubus tends to become pregnant. I wonder if that's the kicker for you. Vol, when do dragons normally heat?"

"Hmm…" he thought. "Around the same time, actually."

"So, that explains why it was so long to leave her!" Orion blinked. "It was almost twice as long!"

"Wait," Cydaea said. "She had a succubus heat and a draconic heat at the same time?"

"I think that's what happened," Orion said.

"But a succubus would get pregnant!" she said. Trishna was starting to feel irritated from all the talk about her. She growled and hunched over her clutch protectively. The negativity in the air was threatening her. Vol covered her with a large wing to shield her. Then he glared at Cydaea. "Okay. I'll relent. We'll watch how she progresses."

"Agreed," Vol nodded slightly. Orion was still resting with her, and she had semi-crawled onto him to gain a sort of comfort. He rested his gloved hand in her hair to show that everything was fine.

"Easy," he soothed. "Everything's fine, love. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," she nodded. He pressed a kiss to her mouth and hugged her to his chest.

"No one will touch our children," he promised. "Even the odd ones. They are still my children."

She nodded and sighed as he rocked her. "Are you happy that you're with me?"

"What type of question is that?" he asked and squeezed her. "If I wasn't here with you, I'd likely be bored and rummaging about my study for something to do. I'd be rejected by Solina again. I'd have to go through the usual bickers and banters of my daughters. I honestly doubt I would have even thought of anything else. Although, I do admit that if your mother came to me about being with you instead of Iblis, I probably would have accepted it."

"Would you have?" she asked. Now Vol peered under his wing to look at them. Even Cydaea paused at what she overheard. This was surprising.

"I wouldn't have wanted your first experience to have turned out so poorly!" he growled and shivered. "Just knowing how you were used like that…"

"A toy…" she cringed. He pressed a loving kiss to her mouth and rocked her.

"Never again. I vow," he muttered out. "You are a queen now. My queen. No others will touch you."

"And...if they do?" she whimpered.

"I'll kill the father and raise the young as mine," he growled. "Children are innocent in this."

"Okay…" she sighed and pressed into him more.

"You know," Vol mused. "As much as I hate to admit this, I would have preferred for you to have been her first over Sonic or Iblis. You would have treated her with due respect."

"Why not Sonic?" Orion asked.

"He would have been awkward with her. Likely made her feel that something was wrong," Vol snorted.

"What would you have done if I went to Mephiles? Or Shadow?" Cydaea grinned now.

"I would have told Fate," Vol smirked at her. That got Cydaea to pause and sigh with a chuckle. "Well, I'm hungry, too. I'll raid the kitchen for us all."

"Good," Orion nodded. "You should go with him."

"I can do that. I need to check on my foxy companion," Cydaea said with a sly smile. After her father left with her mother, Orion nuzzled into his mate's neck and licked her mark to hear her gasp.

"We have ten minutes," he murmured in her ear and was able to show her how much he loved her.

* * *

When Orion was able to judge that they still had more time to spare, he held Trishna close to him with a sigh. On thinking now, she looked at him and asked, "Mother does have me curious. I sort of doubt that I would be pregnant with any others, but…"

"Darling, if you're pregnant with my future daughter or son, you know I'll be overjoyed," he smiled.

"I'm only asking since I was with you the whole time throughout my heat," she said. "And I agreed to be yours."

"That you did."

"I honestly don't know how it would be. I don't think this has ever happened before."

"Well, don't worry. If you are pregnant, I'll be sure to spoil you," he grinned. She blushed horribly at this, and he chuckled proudly. "Although, I may have to ask Cydaea a question."

"What question?" she murmured and yawned at the comforting sound of his thrumming.

"If she knows how long it would take for a pregnancy. Wait. It was the same amount of time with you, now that I think about it," he mused. "It would be nine months. It may take a month for you to show if you're pregnant or not. We'll take it slow, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded. When he looked ahead, he gave a small growl. Then he had an idea and shifted into his natural form. She sighed with complete comfort at the feel of his protective coils around her and the nest. He even gave soft licks to each egg to show he was caring for them. This included the two odd ones. When they carried his scent, it helped him protect them that much more. And they held her scent, too.

There was another reason that he decided to change into his natural form. When the door opened, he set his beautiful, unblinking gaze directly on Lilith's face. She was stunned. At this, he sighed and muttered out, "You should have knocked, daughter. I thought I trained you better than this."

"Ah…" she seemed to pale.

"Lilith, what's going…on…oh…" Fate said when she came in. He knew they were used to just opening doors in places they felt were their homes. He gave a scrutinizing glare to each of them and snorted some mist.

"She is irritated enough. What do you want?" he asked.

"Um, Mother wanted to see everyone," Fate said. Trishna gave a hissing snarl of instinctive hatred. He tightened his coils slightly around her to calm her.

"No. Not right now," Orion said and gently nuzzled her to calm her. "Trishna is a new mother. She will think that her eggs are endangered. She must wait."

At the sight of Solina suddenly charging in, he covered his mate and offspring with a large wing to shield her. This was also why he was in his natural form.

"I will not wait! I will…I…" Solina stared in sheer awed horror at the moon dragon before her.

"Solina, are you trying to start a war?" he asked and flicked his forked tongue with amusement.

"You really…are a…" she whispered.

"Yes. I am. This was my true secret. Tell whoever you like. It will not matter. But if you attempt to harm me, I will have you killed," he said with an ancient, regal air.

"Can you…change back?" Solina asked.

"No. Trishna needs me like this. And if she sees you, she will attempt to kill you. She is feeling threatened. You three need to go. Now," he said. The three females were petrified. That changed when Vol walked in, saw the situation and pulled them out. Once the door slammed shut for him to mildly berate them, Orion sighed and shook his head. "Are you well?"

"I don't want anyone else here," she shivered. "I want them to leave."

"I understand," he nodded.

"And I don't know if I want them to come back," she admitted and moved to cover over the eggs again. "If they are just going to do this, threaten me and irritate me…"

"Quiet, my Star Queen," he soothed and gave her loving lick with his forked tongue. "I shall make things right."

"Okay," she shivered and felt his warm coils press a bit more against her. He was fully guarding her now. Any that walked in uninvited were going to be given a scalding glare to leave.

"It's me!" Vol said.

"Enter," Orion said. On seeing the moon dragon, Vol thought and looked at the room. Then he was able to shift into his true form. They carefully moved about to settle around Trishna and the nest. With two dragons guarding now, it was highly doubtful that anything was going to disturb Trishna. This was the whole idea. With the added protection given, Trishna found herself getting drowsy. When she fell asleep, both dragons regarded each other.

"You need a bigger room," Vol muttered.

"You need a smaller form," Orion smirked. They both chuckled and turned to face the door when it opened. On seeing Mephiles there, the shadow-type hedgehog froze with surprise. "Leave. Now."

"Right," Mephiles said as he cleared his throat and left. That got Vol laughing. When Sonic walked in after being granted entry, it was with another box of sweet meats.

"Thanks. You need to leave the room, though. She's too stressed," Orion said.

"That's fine. I was just delivering it," Sonic nodded.

"Please deter any that wish to see her. Inform the guards, too," Vol said.

"I can do that," Sonic smiled and left. After that, they weren't disturbed. It was something that was desperately needed to help Trishna recover and gain so much needed rest.


End file.
